PDP, Adeleke hail as Supreme Court dismisses Babayemi’s suit

The Osun State Governor-elect, Ademola Adeleke, and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have hailed the judgement of the Supreme Court that validated the governorship primary election.

Adeleke in a statement by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, said he dedicated the victory to God and advised Governor Adegboyega Oyetola to start compilation of his handing over note.

“This project is divine and is here to stay. Our people voted for light and we must all defend and sustain that mandate built on our five-point agenda for good governance,” Adeleke added.

Also, the PDP praised the judiciary for dismissing the appeal of Dotun Babayemi who had approached the court, seeking an order, declaring him as the valid governorship candidate of the PDP.

A statement by the state caretaker chairman, Dr Adekunle Akindele, said Babayemi’s expulsion from the party stand even despite the court order invalidating the expulsion.  Supreme Court, yesterday, upheld the July 16 governorship primary that produced the Osun governor-elect, its candidate.

The five-member panel, in a judgment delivered by Justice Amina Augie, held that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the suit after counsel for the appellant, Adebayo Adelodun, withdrew the earlier notice of appeal that was filed within time.

Upon resumed hearing in the matter Adelodun, who appeared for the appellant and a PDP governorship aspirant, Dotun Babayemi, informed that he sought to withdraw the earlier notice of appeal to replace it with the fresh application he filed.

But the panel held that Section 285(11) of the constitution stipulated that an appeal on a pre-election matter must be filed within 14 days from the day of the decision, and that having filed the second appeal out of time, the apex court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter

Augie, therefore, dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.

It was gathered that Babayemi had asked the court to invalidate the primary that produced the governor-elect, citing non-compliance with a court order.

In his judgment on the matter on May 18, Justice Nathaniel Ayo-Emmanuel of a Federal High Court, sitting in Osogbo, had upheld the governorship primary that produced Adeleke.

Also, the Court of Appeal, Akure Division, in its judgment of July 20 on the appeal filed against the decision of the Federal High Court, Osogbo, aligned with the lower court and dismissed Babayemi’s appeal.