There are worries that Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) nominee for president, may be barred from running in the 2023 elections.
Abiodun Oyebanji, the newly elected governor of Ekiti State, as well as other party candidates, including Tinubu, are said to be at risk.
The worry is a result of the Federal High Court’s decision on Friday, rendered by Justice Emeka Nwite, which declared the nomination of Governor Isiaka Oyetola and his running partner, Benedict Alabi, as APC candidates for the governor of Osun State in 2022 invalid.
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According to Anaedoonline.ng, their candidacy was declared void because Governor Mai Mala Buni breached Section 183 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s Constitution and Section 82(3) of the Electoral Act 2022 when she submitted their names to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The lawsuit was brought by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against Governor Buni, Governor Oyetola, and others.
The provisions of Section 183 read in part: “The Governor, shall not, during the period he holds office, hold any other executive office or paid employment in any capacity whatsoever.”
On the basis of this, some political analysts believe that all of Buni’s acts while serving as the interim National Chairman of the APC may be thrown out.
Abiodun Oyebanji, the newly elected governor of Ekiti, was officially nominated by the APC to run in the state’s election on June 18, 2022, as well as the party’s elective national convention that resulted in the present NWC.
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The development may also result in the disqualification of all APC candidates for the 2023 election who won the primaries held by the National Working Committee headed by Abdullahi Adamu and hailed by the party’s Buni leadership.
All candidates generated and other measures taken by the NWC would be ruled void if the court order resulted in the invalidation of the NWC’s actions because Buni was involved.
However, the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Barrister Felix Morka, disregarded the possibility of such an event, claiming that the high court’s decision is invalid.
He assured Newsmen that the party has every confidence that the Court of Appeal will overturn the lower court’s decision in this case.
He said: ”The judgment of the Court is unsupportable. We are confident that the Court of Appeal will upturn the judgment.
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“It isn’t supportable by fact of law. What the Governor Buni Caretaker did was ratified by Convention, which is the highest organ of the Party. The Court didn’t avert itself to the fact of the matter.
“So, there is nothing to worry about. That decision will be challenged and we are confident that the Court of Appeal will upturn it.”
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