Matters Arising from the Ondo State Governorship Election and its shenanigans.
By Sola Ebiseni.
In deference to calls by well meaning persons within and outside the country and because I am involved (apology to Ikemba Odimegwu Ojukwu) I am constrained to issue this statement on the sham Ondo State Governorship Election purportedly held on the 16th November 2024, particularly on the needles controversies surrounding the Labour Party ticket.
As revealed by Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola the Ondo State Resident Electoral Commissioner in her report dated 26th April 2022, the Labour Party Primary election held same day for the Ondo State Governorship Election was marred with so much controversies that no acceptable candidate emerged such that it was resolved that Mr. Festus Ayo Olorunfemi, the Deputy National Chairman of the Party and curiously one of the aspirants “be declared winner on the condition that he will be substituted before the close of the substitution window”.
Thus Ayo Festus Olorunfemi who became known to me during the 2023 general election whilst I was the South West Coordinator for the Presidential Election, informed me in June of his intention to withdraw his candidacy for which he invited me to the National Secretariat Abuja wherein several meetings were held to that effect with the National Working Committee having in attendance among others, Mr. Julius Abure, National Chairman; Mr. Umar Farouk Ibrahim, National Secretary; Chief Clement Ojukwu, Deputy National Chairman; Dr. Festus Ayo Olorunfemi as the second Deputy National Chairman; Mrs Ngozi Doga as National Treasurer; Mr. Obiora Ifoh as National Publicity Secretary; Barr. Kehinde Edun as National Legal Adviser.
Subsequent meetings were delayed as a result of Olorunfemi’s son’s wedding attended by all of us on the 6th of July at Suleja, Niger State after which a meeting was held on the 8th July with all the NWC members in attendance wherein I was offered the ticket and directed to pay the sum of Twenty Million Naira only as Nomination Fees to the UBA account of the Party and the sum of Five Million Naira as expenses to Ayo Olorunfemi Olorunfemi for which he gave me his account Number 0023807463 with Guaranty Trust Bank. All monies were accordingly transferred with receipts.
Consequent upon these verifiable processes and by letter dated 9th July 2024 signed by Barrister Julius Abure as National Chairman and Alhaji Umar Farouk as National Secretary, the Party conveyed the withdrawal of Olorunfemi and his Deputy Dame Olabisi Adu-Okunniyi to INEC accompanied by letters of voluntary withdrawal signed by the candidates with verifying Affidavits sworn to at the High Court of the FCT all of which processes were received by the INEC on the 10th July.
The Party consequently issued me the Nomination Form finally culminating in the processes of my emergence as the new candidate of the 1st Plaintiff Labour Party.
The omission by INEC to upload my name and that of my running mate, Mr. Adedayo Ezekiel Awude, as the new candidates of the Party consequent upon the irreversible withdrawal by the initial placeholder candidates was the cause of action in the Originating Summons filed by our counsel of Dr. O.J Onoja SAN & Associates on the 6th of August 2024 for an order of Court compelling the Commission to so do which the Federal High Court Abuja per Honourable Justice Emeka Nwite granted on the 27th September 2024.
In the course of the case, Kehinde Edun, National Legal Adviser, by a Motion on Notice challenged our locus to sue in the name of the Labour Party and urged that the name of the Party be struck out of the suit since, according to him, only the National Legal Adviser or the National Chairman may sue or authorise a suit in the name of the Party. The Motion which was dismissed did not and could not have challenged or deny the validity of the candidacy of my Deputy and I which processes they presided over.
Thus contrary to the claims in some uninformed quarters, the issue of validity of our candidacy midwifed by Ayo Olorunfemi and executed by the Abure led National Working Committee was not raised by either the Party, INEC or the Court.
It is also not correct that we were disqualified from contesting the election as no such prayers were before any court which are no fathers Christmas to have given reliefs not sought. Thus in its illegal resurrection of the dead candidacy of Olorunfemi following his irreversible withdrawal backed by Affidavit, INEC was only playing its part in a national orchestra of electoral gangsterism.
This is made more manifest by the fact that INEC which took more than one month to open its portal to upload our names and defiantly refused to allow our agents’ names uploaded would, within less than 48 hours, wrongly interpret and enforce against us few hours to the election a judgment details of which was not read in the open court and copy of which it has not been served.
In the two Appeals against the judgment of Justice Nwite decided on the 13th November one in which Ayo Olorunfemi sought to Appeal as an Interested Party was dismissed and the other Appeal N0 CA/ABJ/ CV/1172/2024 by Abure was allowed on the ground of jurisdiction of the lower court. We challenged the judgment by filing a Notice of Appeal to the Supreme Court, Motion for Stay of Execution which were all served on INEC following day on 14th of November.
It was the same political voodoo that saw to our being excluded in the gubernatorial debate, an intellectual exercise by candidates to juxtapose and share our visions for the greater good of our state and people.
On an issue bordering on integrity, we hasten to say that all documents and processes in relation to the Labour Party Governorship Primary including reports by INEC, Party officials and those documents executed by Olorunfemi and his Deputy were frontloaded and submitted to court by INEC and to which we had no prior access.
Thus I consider it honour bound and in due course, to set legal machineries in motion in vindication of my name against the libellous accusations by Olorunfemi in the media of my alleged forgery of his documents and signature.
Let me use this medium to appreciate all that stood with us across the 18 Local Governments of the state and all over the country in every way including prayers in our quests for a Nigeria that works using Ondo State as the model of our vision.
May I also use this medium to also appreciate His Excellency, Mr Peter Gregory Obi our Leader and Presidential candidate for identifying with us in the course of the electioneering campaigns. Rest assured that the last has not been heard about this brazen and shameless hijack of the will of the people.