Aspirant Sues Ogun PDP On ‘Arbitrary Substitution’

  credited by nairaland.com

 A HOUSE of Representatives aspirant for Abeokuta North, Odeda and Obafemi/Owode Federal Constituency, Ogun State, Dr. Adesina Ibrahim Olaleye, has sued the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for substituting him with a gubernatorial aspirant, Jelili Kayode Amusan, describing such as irregular and inconsistent.

   Also joined in the suit are Amusan and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as first and third defendants, respectively.

  The plaintiff through his counsel, Malachy Ugwummadu of Malachy Ugwummadu’s Chamber said he emerged as the candidate of the party, having contested and polled the highest vote cast at the PDP primary election in Ogun State held on December 6, 2014 for the House of Representatives, but his name was substituted with Amusan, describing it as unconstitutional and inconsistent with both Electoral Act 2010 and the PDP’s Electoral Guidelines for Primary Election 2014.

  He noted that Amusan did not in any way partake in the House of Representatives primaries but that of the Governorship primaries in the state, hence the party shouldn’t have forwarded his name to INEC as the nominated candidate, saying both PDP and INEC lack the power under Section 33, 35 and 87(4)(C)(ii) of the Electoral Act 2010 as well as Section 50 of PDP’s Electoral guidelines to do such.

  Olaleye is therefore seeking a relief stating that the substitution is illegal, null and void and of no effect; that he was the duly elected candidate having polled 56 votes, which was the highest number of votes; that Amusan is not eligible or qualified to contest being an aspirant who obtained and contested the party’s gubernatorial primaries, which he lost to Gboyega Isiaka, among others.

  The plaintiff is now seeking an order directing PDP to restore him as the duly nominated, verified, screened cleared and elected candidate for the general election; an order of perpetual injunction restraining PDP and INEC, their servants, privies agents or whosoever from recognising or dealing with Amusan or any other person as candidate; setting aside the purported substitution for being ultra vires and unlawful; and an order of perpetual injunction restraining Amusan or any other person from parading himself as candidate for the post in the general elections, among others. 

  The defendants are therefore asked to within 30 days after the service of the summon on them, to cause an appearance to be entered for them for the determination of the issues raised.

  In a related development, the beneficiary of the substitution, Amusan has sued both the South West leader of the party and the PDP for trying to substitute him with yet another person, after he was declared dead. Olaleye is therefore approaching the court for the possibility of joining the case as interested party