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Court Restrains ODIEC From Accepting APC Candidates' List For LG Election

September 11, 2018

Messrs. Idowu Otetubi and Muhammad Ajowa, on behalf of the Ondo State Executive Committee of APC, filed the ex-parte motion before the court while serving as plaintiffs in the suit.

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The Ondo State High Court in Akure has restrained the State Independent Electoral Commission from accepting the list of candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) submitted by Ade Adetimehin, the party’s chairman, ahead of the December 1, 2018 local government election.

The decision of the court followed an interim injunction granted to a faction of the APC in the state, which asked the court not to entertain any list of candidates emanating from any purported primary election conducted by Adetimehin.

SaharaReporters obtained court documents on the injunction on Monday night, restraining the Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC) from accepting the candidates’ list.

Messrs. Idowu Otetubi and Muhammad Ajowa, on behalf of the Ondo State Executive Committee of APC, filed the ex-parte motion before the court while serving as plaintiffs in the suit.

They joined Ade Adetimehin, Adesina Ikota Atila, the All Progressive Congress (APC) and the Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC) as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th defendants, respectively, in the same suit before the court.

In his ruling, Justice D.I. Kolawole of the Ondo State High Court granted the prayers of the plaintiff with an “interim injunction” restraining the Ondo State electoral body from accepting the list of candidates from the APC faction.

“The 4th defendant/respondents (ODIEC) is restrained in the interim from entertaining, honouring or welcoming any list of candidates emanating from any purported primary elections conducted by the 1st defendant’s led state executive committee for the 3rd defendant (APC) for purpose of the local government elections in Ondo State, slated for 1st December 2018 pending the determination of the motion on notice filed by the claimant,” he ruled.

Kolawole said the interim injunction would last for 14 days unless renewed by the court, and he thereafter adjourned the matter till September 17, 2018.

Our correspondent reported that the injunction is coming as the party had postponed, indefinitely, the primary election for the 18 local government areas of the state, ahead of the council poll.

Also, Idowu Otetubi, factional chairman of the party in the state, had gone to court to the challenge the process for the conduct of the local government election slated for December 1, 2018, in the 302 wards and 18 council areas of the state.

Otetubi said the Adetimehin-led executive in the state was not competent to submit the list of candidates, because they did not emerge at a congress done in accordance with the party’s guidelines.

Following the parallel ward, local government and state congresses conducted in May 2018, the party was in crisis, as during the congresses, two factions of the Ondo APC emerged -– one led by Ade Adetimehin and the other led by Idowu Otetubi.