Sen. Smart Adeyemi’s lawsuit challenging the primary poll that resulted in Ahmed Ododo being chosen as the APC’s nominee for governor of Kogi State in the November 2023 election was dismissed by the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The All Progressives Congress, APC, held a governorship primary election in the state, and Senator Adeyemi, a former lawmaker who represented Kogi West Senatorial District, petitioned the Federal High Court to declare the election invalid on the grounds that it was improperly conducted.
The former lawmaker informed the court in a 35-paragraph affidavit he submitted in support of his initial summons that he paid the party $50 million for nomination and expression of interest forms before being screened and given the go-ahead to run in the primary election that was scheduled for April 14, 2023.
Justice James Omotosho, who delivered the ruling, stated that Adeyemi had failed to demonstrate his claim that Ododo had been improperly nominated by the APC and that Adeyemi had also failed to present any convincing evidence to support his claim.
Contrary to the plaintiff’s position, the court found that there was evidence that the primary election was lawfully conducted and observed by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and that the claims the plaintiff made in the lawsuit were criminal in nature and thus needed to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. In response to the court’s ruling, Senator Adeyemi has announced that he will appeal the decision through his attorney.
Senator Adeyemi had asked the court to declare the supposed direct primary election, allegedly held by the APC, in which Ododo emerged as a candidate for the governorship election, as illegal, illegitimate, and void.
He testified before the court that Yahaya Bello, the departing governor of the state, personally chose Ododo to be the party’s flag bearer, in flagrant contravention of Section 177 of the 1999 Constitution, Sections 29 and 84 of the Electoral Act, and Article 20 of the APC Constitution.
In light of this, he requested that the court invalidate the primary election and issue a directive for the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to refuse to acknowledge Ododo as the legitimate candidate of the party for the governorship race.
Additionally, he is requesting that the Electoral Act of 2022 be followed and that the APC hold new primaries with equal opportunity for all candidates.
