Politics

2023: Drama As Aggrieved Aspirants Reject INEC Lists, Begin Multiple Court Cases

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2 years ago

Jun 29, 2022.

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Drama As Aggrieved Aspirants Reject INEC Lists, Begin Multiple Court Cases
States, where aggrieved aspirants are challenging the lists include Ogun, Gombe, Plateau, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Kano, and Taraba

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that the lists of candidates contesting the 2023 elections have sparked multiple court cases by aggrieved aspirants in many states.

States, where aggrieved aspirants are challenging the lists include Ogun, Gombe, Plateau, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Kano, and Taraba.

Some of the aspirants, in separate interviews with the press, faulted the lists submitted by parties and published by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Political parties had on June 17 submitted to the commission the lists of their candidates contesting the 2023 elections.

The electoral commission on Friday released lists of candidates vying for various positions at the federal level in the 2023 general elections.

In Ogun State, Sanya Akindele, the Media Aide to Senator Tolu Odebiyi, who lost the Ogun West senatorial primary to the incumbent senator representing the Lagos West, Olamilekan Adeola, said his principal was challenging Adeola’s nomination.

Akindele said “Yes, Senator Odebiyi is challenging the case in court. There was an injunction before the primary election stopping Yayi (Adeola) from partaking in the primary.

“It is an absurd holding mandate in two different states simultaneously or representing two wards. It makes a mockery of our democracy.”

But the Media Aide to Adeola, Kayode Odunaro, faulted Odebiyi for taking his boss to court.

Odebiyi said the senator was suffering from self-delusion for taking the move after he had lost at the appeal committee set up by the party.

The member representing the Ado-Odo/Ota in the House of Representatives, Jimoh Ojugbele, is challenging a former Commissioner for Forestry, Tunji Akinosi, whose name is on the INEC list.

Both Senator Odebiyi and Ojugbele filed their suit at the Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta.

In the Akwa Ibom North-West, a former Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Udom Okpoudum, through his media director, Mr Peter Idiong, threatened that he would go to court if his name was not on the INEC list as the senatorial candidate.

Idiong, in an interview, said, “ Ex-DIG Okpoudum is the authentic candidate for Akwa Ibom North-West senatorial district. We are not bothered about the list because we believe that INEC will do the right thing and give the ticket to our principal. And if they fail, we are going to take some measures, and we are likely going to court to challenge the process because INEC monitored the election. It would be a great disservice for INEC to monitor an election and at the end of it nothing is done.”

But the Chief Press Secretary to Akpabio, Mr Jackson Udom, said there was no cause for alarm.

In an interview with the Press, Udom stated, “I don’t know what action my boss is going to take yet. He has not told me what action he is going to take and I cannot pre-empt anything. But we believe that Senator Akpabio’s name will be there.’’

A member of the House of Representatives on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party in Benue State Francis Ottah-Agbo, it was learnt, had gone to court to challenge the victory of Aida Ogwuche

The lawmaker who filed a case at the Federal High Court against the winner also joined the PDP and INEC that the candidate who worked at Federal Inland Revenue Service before her secondment to the Benue State government where she served as the principal assistant to the governor.

Agbo, who declined to comment on the case when contacted, is praying the court to nullify the election and retrieve the certificate of return.

FURTHER READING

Although INEC has yet to release the list of candidates, contesting elections at the state level, 18 aggrieved APC governorship aspirants in Plateau State kicked against the nomination of Dr Nentawe Yilwatda as the party’s governorship candidate in the state.

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