A high court sitting
in Abuja has nullified the candidature of Ademola Adeleke who contested the
2018 governorship election in Osun state under the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP).
The court gave the ruling
based on a suit filed by Wahab Raheem and Adam Habeeb, two chieftains of
the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The duo had filed the
suit seeking the disqualification of Adeleke over the allegations that he did
not possess secondary school certificate (SSCE).
The certificate is
required for an elective position, according to section 177 (d) of the 1999
constitution.
The West African
Examinations Council (WAEC) had confirmed that Adeleke sat for its examination
in 1981.
The council confirmed
Adeleke’s participation in an affidavit provided at the request of the court.
But in his ruling Othman
Musa, the presiding judge, said while the court’s findings showed that Adeleke
entered secondary school in 1976, there was no record to show that he actually
graduated as his name was no longer seen in the school’s register from 1980.
The judge further said
the result Adeleke attached to his form CF001 which he submitted to the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was fake.
He added that it was
found to be different from the one presented to the court by the principal of
Ede Muslim High School, Ede, Osun, where Adeleke supposedly graduated from.
Meanwhile, Nathaniel Oke,
Adeleke’s lawyer, faulted the judgment of the court and vowed to appeal the
ruling in a higher court.
Oke argued that judge
erred in law by going out of his way to source evidence to arrive at his
“unjust conclusion”, while “ignoring” WAEC evidence that Adeleke possessed the
certificate.
The state governorship
election petition tribunal has declared Adeleke as winner of the September 2018
election in the state.
The tribunal held that
the rerun election conducted in the state which saw the emergence of Gboyega
Oyetola as governor, after the initial poll, was illegal.
INEC had announced
Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner of the
election.
But the PDP and Adeleke
filed a petition at the tribunal, challenging Oyetola’s victory.
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