The Court of Appeal in Ibadan, Oyo State has reinstated Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State.
The court also reinstated the three senatorial candidates, nine House of Representatives and 26 House of Assembly candidates, who all emerged from the party’s primaries.
Daily Trust reports that Justice O. O. Oguntoyinbo of the Federal High Court Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, had on September 27, declared the primaries that produced Adebutu and other PDP candidates as invalid.
The court ordered the party to conduct fresh primaries within 14 days.
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Adebutu and the PDP, however, challenged the judgment at the appellate court.
But the Court of Appeal, on Monday, overturned the ruling of the lower court.
Delivering judgment, Justice Nimpar Yargata said the trial court fell into error by nullifying the primaries, which produced Adebutu, having been conducted by the NWC of the party.
Justice Yargata further argued that since the plaintiffs, Taiwo Olabode Idris and others, who instituted the case at the lower court, were not aspirants of the party, therefore had no locus to challenge the outcome of the primaries.
One of the PDP governorship aspirants, Jimi Lawal, said he would approach Supreme Court over the judgement of the Appeal court.
The Project Director, Jimi Adebisi Lawal Campaign Organisation, Austin Oniyokor disclosed this to newsmen in Abeokuta.
From Jeremiah Oke (Ibadan) & Peter Moses (Abeokuta)
