Aiyedatiwa: Court drama as NNPP rejects Ondo candidate
The Federal High Court in Akure, the capital of Ondo State, witnessed a minor drama when the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) distanced itself from the lawsuit that its candidate, Gbenga Edema, had brought to contest the candidacies of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and his running mate, Dr. Olaiyide Adelami.
The drama started when Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa brought a letter from the party’s national legal adviser, Mr. Robert Hon, to the court’s notice. In it, he distanced the party from the lawsuit involving the primary that resulted in Aiyedatiwa being the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate.
The National Legal Adviser’s office urged the court to remove the name of NNPP from the lawsuit in a document headed “Letter of Instructions” that was sent to Adelanke Akinrata on December 10, 2024.
“The above captioned subject matter refers,” the letter stated. We are writing to express our interest in Suit No. FHC/AK/CS/103/2024, in which we were allegedly the second plaintiff and sued the defendants.
“You have been expressly directed to remove the New Nigeria Peoples’ Party (NNPP), the second plaintiff, from the lawsuit.
“Neither the first plaintiff nor anybody else received instructions from the second plaintiff to bring a lawsuit against the defendants on its behalf. For more information, please get in touch with the National Legal Adviser’s office.
As a result, Adegboruwa requested that the plaintiffs’ attorney abandon the lawsuit so that the court might strike it out. He stated that the court’s time should not be wasted on the case.
Counsel for the defendants, represented by Dr. Remi Olatubora, Kola Olawoye, and Mr. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, responded to the incident by saying that it was disgraceful for a litigant to suit under a party’s name without providing enough consultation. He stated that the court ought to strike out the case and withdraw it.
Speaking on behalf of others, Olatubora claimed that the fact that the NNPP’s letter was taken to court by the party’s state chairman, Mr. Peter Olagookun, demonstrated the legitimacy of the party’s stance on the APC primary.
Chief Charles Edosomwan, INEC’s attorney, requested that the court dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds that it lacked jurisdiction and that the plaintiffs lacked standing to bring it.
Abayomi Ojo, Edema’s attorney, responded by stating that the candidate was unaware of the letter and would want time to review its contents.
He claimed that the letter was in court for the first time and asked the court to adjourn so he could reply.
Recall that NNPP candidate Edema has requested that the court order INEC to revoke the nomination and cancel the publication of the names of All Progressives Congress (APC) Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and his deputy as candidates.
In the lawsuit, Edema requested that the court interpret whether Section 15 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 Constitution (as amended) applied to the APC candidates’ nominations.
But the NNPP, through its National Legal Adviser, Mr. Hon, said the party did not authorize any suit against the candidature of Governor Aiyedatiwa and his Deputy. He asked the name of the party be withdrawn from the suit.
