About 100 Aspirants of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State on Monday, dragged the APC National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomole, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to court over the outcome of the party’s primaries in the State.
Nigerian Tribune reported that the aggrieved Aspirants were led by the former Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Mr Kenneth Olawale, to file the suit at the court.
Also included in the suit were the National Legal Adviser of APC, Mr Babatunde Ogala, the state Chairman of the party in Ondo State, Mr Ade Adetimehin and INEC.
They said there was no primary election in the State through which the candidates of the party should have emerged for the 2019 general election.
They prayed the court for the following declaractions :
“Declaration that the subversion of the Electoral Guidelines of the APC as stipulated in its constitution by the party machinery in Ondo State in respect of the House of Representatives and House of Representatives primaries purportedly conducted on the 5th of October, 2018 in their failure to give the claimants opportunity of being voted for by the members of the party as enshrined in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended is illegal, invalid, unconstitutional, null and void.
“A declaration that the hand picking of preferred candidates without conducting any primary election in any of the ward and constituency in Ondo State with no presence of any officials of INEC and members of the National Electoral Committee of the party amounting to pre-arranged choice of candidates is illegal, contrary to the Electoral guideline of the APC party and the express provisions of the Electoral Act 2010, as amended in 2015.
“A declaration that the harassment, molestation and intimidation of the claimants in their various leading to their being forcibly chased sway and embarrassed from all venues designed for the purpose of the primary elections with machetes and Dane guns by the hired thugs and hoodlums of the preferred candidates thereby ensuring that no primary election was held, amount to gross flagrant breach of Electoral guideline of the APC party and the express provisions of the Electoral Act 2010, as amended in 2015.”
The case was fixed to November 12, 2018 by Presiding Judge, Justice F A Olubanjo who ordered that all the defendants in the case must be served before the hearing.
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