Oni loses again as Appeal Court dismisses eligibility case

A former governor of Ekiti state, Segun Oni, on Tuesday lost an appeal filed by him against Governor Kayode Fayemi contesting his eligibility to have been fielded as the All Progressives Congress candidate in last year’s governorship election in the state.

The Appeal Court, presided over by Justice Adamu  Juaro, at its sitting  in Ado Ekiti dismissed the case saying Fayemi not resigning as the then Minister of Steel and Mines Development before the governorship primary, where he  emerged as candidate, was not enough to disqualify him.

Other justices of the appeal court who pronounced the unanimous verdict are: Justices Emmanuel Agim and Abubakar Lamido.

The Appeal court in the judgement delivered by Justice Agim, also held that Fayemi’s indictment  by Justice Silas Oyewole-led judicial panel of inquiry set up by former Governor Ayodele Fayose to try the governor for alleged  embezzlement was not enough to bar him from participating in the election.

The justices ruled that only a conviction by a competent court of law could bar any aspirant from participating in a primary or general election  and not a mere indictment by a panel.

It would be recalled that Justice Uche Agomoh of the federal high court, had in a judgement delivered last year dismissed the case for lack of merit, after which the former governor appealed the case.