By James Orji
The coast in not yet clear for Senator Ademola Adeleke as the candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP in the July governorship election in Osun state.
Adeleke’s nephew Dele Adeleke had earlier withdrawn from the race as a PDP aspirant after the family waded in to clear the way for the senator to clinch the ticket.
On Tuesday, the PDP in the state declared the senator as the winner of the governorship primary conducted by the party, despite a parallel election by a faction of the PDP which later declared Dotun Babayemi as their own candidate for the election.
The primary conducted by the Adeleke group was supervised by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and the PDP had gone ahead to present a certificate of return to the senator in preparation for the governorship election coming up in four months time.
But four days after Adeleke was declared by PDP as its candidate, an Osun State High Court sitting in Ijebu-Jesa has nullified his candidacy.
The court said it only recognized Babayemi, the candidate elected by the other faction, whose ward executives were elected on September 25, 2021.
The court also granted an interim order affirming 215 delegates elected on September 25, 2021, as the authentic delegates in accordance with a motion ex parte filed on behalf of Adedokun Ademola and 29 others by his counsel, Edmund Biriomoni.
In line with Ademola’s lawyers’ request, the court said an order of “mandatory interim injunction is granted by this court recognising or affirming the Peoples Democratic Party, Osun state governorship primary conducted on the 8th of March, 2022, wherein the ward executive officers elected on the 25th of September, 2021 in the following wards listed as (a) -(y) in the motion paper of the Peoples Democratic Party voted as delegates in full complaint with the judgement of the court delivered on 22nd of November, 2021 and order of the mandatory interim injunction granted on the 3rd of March, 2022, affirming the 215 ward executive officers as the authentic/or authorised elected ward executive officers permitted to vote as delegates at the party governorship primaries.
“An order of mandatory interim injunction of this court is granted restraining the defendants/respondents from recognising any other governorship primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party, Osun state conducted on the 8th of March, 2022, apart from the governorship primaries conducted on the 8th of March, 2022 wherein ward executive officers elected on the 25th of September, 2021 in the following wards listed as (a) -(y) in the motion papers, of the Peoples Democratic Party, Osun state voted as delegates at governorship primary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Osun state in full compliance with the judgement of the court delivered on the 22nd of November, 2021 and order of mandatory interim injunction granted on the 3rd of March, 2022 affirming the 215 ward executive officers as the authentic/or authorised or elected ward executive officers permitted to vote as delegates at the party governorship primaries”.
Meanwhile, watchers of events in the state insist that the PDP must put its house in order to be able to stand a chance against Governor Gboyega Oyetola, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC in the upcoming election. Oyetola narrowly defeated Senator Adeleke four year ago.
