Skip to main content

Nigerian Supreme Court Upholds David Aderonokin As Ogun PDP Senatorial Candidate

PDP
January 27, 2023

The apex court on Thursday gave the judgment on the disputed primary election that took place at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in the state on May 23, 2022.

The Supreme Court has upheld the election of David Olumide Aderonokin, as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senatorial candidate for the Ogun State Central Senatorial District in the forthcoming general elections.

The apex court on Thursday gave the judgment on the disputed primary election that took place at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in the state on May 23, 2022.

Recall that the appellant, Kolawole Oduntan, had challenged Aderonokin's election in a suit at the Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta, the state capital, where he prayed the court to declare him the winner of the primary election.

But the presiding judge of Court 1 in the FHC, Justice O.O. Oguntoyinbo, ruled that the court would not entertain the case because it is incompetent and defective because it was not initiated in line with the due process of law.

Oduntan, who did not accept the judgement of the Federal High Court, appealed the matter to the Court of Appeal Ibadan division and on December 9, 2022, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal and affirmed the judgment of the lower court.

However, the appellant further appealed the matter to the Supreme Court and prayed the apex court to reverse the judgment of the Federal High Court and that of the Appeal Court.

He urged the Supreme Court to invoke its original jurisdiction and declare him the party's candidate for the Ogun Central Senatorial District.

At the Supreme Court, the appellant and the respondents exchanged their briefs with the 3rd respondent - Adenorokin filing a Notice of Preliminary Objection challenging the competence of the appellant's appeal on the ground that the suit had become statute barred and academic since the 180 days within which the trial court (Federal High Court ) could hear the case on the merit had lapsed the Supreme Court could no longer invoke its original jurisdiction under Section 22 of the Supreme Court Act to hear same as if it was sitting as the court of first instance.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court in a unanimous decision dismissed the appeal and affirmed the judgments of the two lower courts, hence, upholding Adenorokin's candidature.

Speaking on the implications of the Supreme Court ruling, Aderonokin’s counsel, Stanley Imhanruor, noted that the suit commenced by the appellant at the Federal High Court and fought through the Court of Appeal has finally been given a decent judicial funeral by the Supreme Court.

Imhanruor said that the disputations surrounding his client's candidature as the PDP senatorial candidate for Ogun Central District had been rested and that his client could now concentrate on his campaigns going forward without any distractions whatsoever.