ADELEKE: Appeal Court Ruling Serves ‘Desperate Politicians’ Right – PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has commended the ruling of the Court of Appeal which held that Senator Ademola Adeleke was qualified to contest the 2018 Osun governorship election.

Adeleke and his party, the PDP’s appeal against a Federal High Court judgment was upheld on Thursday.

The High Court in Abuja had earlier declared Adeleke ineligible to contest the election on the grounds that he allegedly forged the secondary school corticate he presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the run-up to the election.

But delivering the judgment today, a three-man panel led by Justice Emmanuel Agim of the Appeal Court in Abuja held that the PDP candidate was qualified to run in the election.

The appellate also awarded N3 million against one Wahab Raheem and Adam Habeeb who are the plaintiffs that filed the suit before the FCT High Court and who were the respondents in Adeleke’s application at the Court of Appeal.

Reacting through its national spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, on Thursday evening, the PDP said the ruling serves “desperate politicians” right that it is wrong to abuse court processes

The party said the judgment is “a triumph of justice and the will of the people of Osun state over oppressive forces.”

According to the PDP, “the ruling of the Court of Appeal has finally put to rest all contentions about the educational qualification of Senator Adeleke and renders all such cases in lower courts incompetent.

“In ruling that the FCT High Court was wrong in nullifying Senator Adeleke’s candidacy “when the evidence before the court proved that Adeleke had met all the constitutional requirements”, for the election, the Appeal Court has affirmed justice and restored the verdict of the Osun people on the eligibility of our candidate to stand for election.

“Moreover, the findings of the Appeal Court that the FCT High Court lacked powers to entertain the matter, since the issues therein are related to what transpired in Osun State, serves as a lesson to desperate politicians engaging in abuse of court processes,” said the party.

It further commended the Appeal Court’s justices “for restoring the confidence reposed on the judiciary as the last hope of the common man and counseled the APC and its agents to end their unnecessary attacks on Senator Adeleke and allow the people of Osun state to enjoy their much-desired benefits of having a competent, people-oriented and purposeful leadership under Senator Adeleke.”

Recall that the Osun State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abuja had recently declared  Adeleke as winner of the 2018 governorship election in the state, while voiding the victory of the All Pgrossvices Congress (APC)  candidate, Gboyega Oyetola. The latter had since appealed the ruling.