BY MAYOWA SAMUEL
An aggrieved governorship aspirant of the controversial May 25 primaries of the People’s Democratic Party in Ogun State, Jimi Adebisi Lawal, has advised the state chapter of the party and the ousted governorship candidate, Ladi Adebutu against appealing the Abeokuta High Court judgement which nullified his candidacy.
Expressing satisfaction with the September 27 court ruling which nullified Adebutu’s candidacy and ordered a rerun of all the primaries to elect candidates for the Governorship, Senate, House of Representatives and the House of Assembly, Lawal warned that such a move, would be against the interest of the party.
Lawal, in an exclusive interview with The Point, said, “It’s not in the interest of the party to talk of appeal, and avoid a re-run.
The two can be done together. I accept that the PDP and Ladi have the right to appeal, but by not doing the re-run, it’s simply because Ladi Adebutu knows that he will lose the re-run, that was why he cheated in the first instance and why we went to court. So, if the cheating or the fraud is removed, he’ll lose, that’s why he’s running away to appeal.
“The problem with the appeal is that whilst it’s his legal right, by the time the appeal processes are exhausted, after going through the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, it will be at least four months. We are in October, by February it will be time for election, no more time for campaigns.
“So, what they are doing is if you remember the King Solomon case of the Old Testament where there’s a fake mother and the real mother of a child. The fake mother said the child should be divided into two. Of course, if you divide a living being into two, there will be no life left.
“So, this is what they are doing and I am pushing, begging and doing whatever is humanly possible for them to agree to a re-run as ordered by the court. You know if you have a re-run, whoever wins, also must win the case.
If someone wins the election and you lose the case, whoever wins the case becomes the candidate of the party. I’m going to take that risk, why can’t they take the risk?” he wondered.
Justice O.O Oguntoyinbo, had in his judgement, ordered the conduct of fresh primaries for all the positions within fourteen days from the date of the court pronouncement, as according to him, all the primaries didn’t follow the principles of the 2022 Electoral Act.
Justice Oguntoyinbo also barred the Independent National Electoral Commission from recognising Adebutu as the flag bearer of the party, a directive which the electoral umpire complied with, as Adebutu and his running mate Adekunle Akinlade, were missing in the electoral body’s final list of governorship candidates released last week.
