The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, on Wednesday disqualified Olusola Ebiseni as the Labour Party’s candidate for the upcoming Ondo State governorship election, scheduled for Saturday, 16 November 2024.
In a unanimous decision by a three-member panel of justices, led by Justice Hamma Barka, the court allowed the appeal filed by the Labour Party against Ebiseni and two other respondents. The lead judgment was delivered by Justice Adebukola Banjoko, who stated that the appeal, marked CA/ABJ/CV/1172/2024, was upheld.
Justice Banjoko also noted that the Certified True Copy of the judgment would be made available to the parties involved for further review. Justice Abba Mohammed, in his concurrent opinion, fully agreed with the decision of the panel.
The ruling by the Court of Appeal overturns an earlier decision by Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja. In that decision, Justice Nwite had ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to accept and recognize Ebiseni and Ezekiel Awude as the Labour Party’s official candidates for the 16 November 2024 Ondo State governorship election.
Justice Nwite had affirmed that the second primary election held by the Labour Party, which produced Ebiseni and Awude, was valid. He also acknowledged that Ebiseni had paid N20 million for the nomination form and was issued a form leading to the conduct of the election. Additionally, Justice Nwite noted that the party had paid N5 million to Festus Olorunfemi as compensation for his withdrawal from the race.
As a result, Justice Nwite had ordered INEC to publish the names of Ebiseni and Awude as the party’s lawful candidates for the upcoming election.
However, the Court of Appeal’s ruling has now set aside the Federal High Court’s judgment, disqualifying Ebiseni from contesting the election.
