In a legal move, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim has taken the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ondo State Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to a Federal High Court in Abuja. The case revolves around the contentious primary election that led to Aiyedatiwa’s emergence as the APC candidate for the upcoming November elections.
Representing Ondo South in the Senate, Ibrahim is urging the court to void Aiyedatiwa’s nomination due to alleged irregularities in the primary election held on April 20. He claims that the election violated provisions of the 1999 Constitution, Electoral Act 2022, and was marked by several discrepancies.
Senator Ibrahim, a gubernatorial aspirant in the primary election, contends that certain delegates were not properly accredited to vote, rendering the election null and void. He is seeking an injunction against INEC from recognizing Aiyedatiwa as the APC candidate and prohibiting Aiyedatiwa from portraying himself as such.
Additionally, Ibrahim is requesting the court to annul the primary election, mandate a fresh one adhering to constitutional and electoral laws, and exclude the APC and Aiyedatiwa from the gubernatorial race until a lawful nomination process is conducted.
During recent court proceedings, Senator Ibrahim’s legal team filed for substituted service of court documents on Aiyedatiwa through an APC staff at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja, a request that was granted by Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo. The court has scheduled a hearing on the matter for May 14.