11th March, 2015
Akin Kuponiyi
An aspirant to the House of Representatives on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Abdulkabir Lawal, has dragged the party’s chairman in Lagos state, Capt. Olatunji Shelle, before a Federal high court in Lagos southwest Nigeria for allegedly transferring his mandate to one Adebola Gbabijo.
Lawal accused Shelle of giving the party’s mandate to Gbabijo who polled 28 votes in the PDP primary where he claimed to have been declared winner with 29 votes.
The applicant, in a suit filed before the court is seeking a declaration that he is the bonafide PDP candidate representing Epe Federal Constituency for the next coming election into House of Representatives.
Lawal, through his lawyer, Dr. Yemi Oke, prayed Justice Mohammed Yinusa to order the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to expunge Gbabijo’s name from its register and replace same with his own.
Joined as respondents in the ensuing legal action are Shelle, Gbabijo, PDP and INEC.
Though the applicant, through a motion ex parte, urged Yinusa to make an order of interim injunction restraining INEC from recognising Gbabijo as the PDP candidate for Epe Federal Constituency, the judge, however, declined and rather asked that the respondents should be served with the court’s process
Thereafter the court adjourned till March 16, 2015 for hearing of the substantive suit.
When the respondents must been served with all the court processes in relation to the motion on notice.
Lawal, in an affidavit deposed to and filed in support of the motion ex parte explained that though both himself and Gbabijo had each polled 29 votes each in the PDP primary held on December 6, 2014 but, he (Lawal) was however declared winner as one of Gbabijo’s votes was voided.
According to Lawal, it was discovered that Gbabijo had one proxy vote, which was a vote on behalf of a former treasurer of the party, who was already deceased at the time of the election.
“By virtue of the report of the Lagos State Electoral Panel, the proxy vote was voided and I was declared winner having polled 29 votes cast over and above my opponent, the second respondent Gbabijo, who scored 28 votes at the primary.
“But to my utmost chagrin, I was denied the Form CF001 at the PDP secretariat by shelle on the grounds that the election for the Epe Federal Constituency is inconclusive.
“It is clear that I have been denied my constitutional right by the 1st, 2nd and 3rd respondents by the substitution of my candidacy for the 2nd respondent.”
The applicant therefore pray the court to, by the combined effects of sections 87 (1), (2), (3) and (4) (c) (i) (ii) of the Electoral Act, 2010, invalidate Gbabijo’s nomination to INEC and order his own recognition as the candidate for Epe Federal Constituency into the House of Representative on the platform of the PDP.