The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) primary election for the Ikorodu Federal Constituency was scheduled for May 24. According to the Federal High Court in Lagos, neither the primary election nor the repeat election have been justified by the PDP.
In order to replace Awesu AbdulAzeez, whose name was provided, the court directed the PDP to submit Abdul Kareem Shittu’s name as the party’s candidate to INEC.
Shittu won the party’s Lagos State House of Representatives primary held on May 24, 2022, by a simple majority, according to Justice Daniel Osiagor.
The plaintiff, Abdul Kareem Shittu, was listed as the primary election winner on the INEC form that was signed by party leaders and countersigned by an INEC official, according to Justice Osiagor.
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According to the judge, Shitu is the duly nominated candidate for the Ikorodu Federal Constituency and should be recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The judge issued the directive while rendering a decision in Shittu’s lawsuit contesting PDP’s alleged submission of the identity of Awesu AbdulAzeez A, the third defendant in the lawsuit. as its candidate for the constituency, to INEC.
The first and second defendants are mentioned as being the PDP and INEC.
In his ruling, Justice Osiagor concluded that the plaintiff did not violate Section 285 of the Electoral Act, which stipulated a 14-day window for filing pre-election matters. The third defendant, Awesu, had opposed the complaint on the grounds that it was statute-barred.
The purported submission of the third defendant’s name to INEC on the 17th of June, which he learned about on the 18th of June, was what Shittu complained about, the judge ruled, adding that the plaintiff’s lawsuit resolves that window limitation. Shittu had not complained about the outcome of the election.
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Justice Osiagor ruled that the party’s rules are subordinate to the Electoral Act in response to the third defendant’s contention that the plaintiff did not seek to resolve the disagreement through the internal mechanisms of the party as provided for in the party’s constitution.
He continued by saying that the party’s regulations, which include internal mechanisms for resolving disputes, cannot deny the Federal High Court its unfettered grant of jurisdiction under the Electoral Act.
The judge remarked that, to make matters worse, the PDP had not been in court to contest the plaintiff’s May 6th outcome or to submit any documentation demonstrating its veracity.
The judge cautioned politicians to remember that the days of gathering people for elections only to subsequently return and disregard the people’s will are long gone.
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Shittu stated in his affidavit before the court that he took part in the PDP’s primary election in Ikorodu on May 24, 2022, to choose its candidate for the House of Representatives, and that he received the greatest number of votes cast.
He said that after winning the primary election, his name was declared the victor in front of all party members who had seen and taken part in the vote, and his name was also recorded on the party’s official result slip.
Shittu further claimed that the party later postponed the primary poll as a result of a petition signed by the third respondent, and the new date for the election was June 6.
He said that there should have been a rerun because Awesu AbdulAzeez and he received the same number of votes in the primary election that was rescheduled, and because of that and in accordance with the party’s rules for primary elections to nominate its candidate.
He continued, saying that rather than holding a primary, the party went ahead and nominated the third responder as its candidate to INEC, which prompted him to initiate the lawsuit.
