Suit against Oyo Speaker adjourned

 Hearing in a case against the candidacy of the Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Michael Adeyemo, was yesterday adjourned till October 6.

A member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who was an aspirant in Ibarapa East State Constituency, Mark Akinloye, sued Adeyemo and the party.

He claimed that he won the primary election but that his name was substituted with Adeyemo’s.

Akinyode is praying the court to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise him as the APC candidate in Ibarapa East for the House of Assembly election, instead of Adeyemo, whose name was submitted by the party despite losing the primary election.

According to him, he polled 137 votes to beat Adeyemo, who polled 134.

Akinyode’s counsel Akeem Fadun said his client was cheated after winning the primary, adding that he would file the necessary documents as the court demanded after the defendant decided to file a preliminary objection.

But he frowned at the timing of the objection, saying it was a time-wasting tactic.

His words: “We have filed our written address on the issue of jurisdiction but the first defendant has decided to file a preliminary objection. I wonder why he did not do that before yesterday, but it’s within the rule of the court.

“We could have gone ahead to hear the case today but whatever the delay tactic being used is still within the legal limit.

“For the record, our prayer is that our client, who actually won the primary election, should be returned to his rightful position. The exhibits are clear and they are public documents. He had 137 votes while the defendant, who is now the speaker, had 134 votes.

“Unfortunately and shocking too, the person who came second was declared by the party as the winner and its representative in the election.

“We want the court to compel INEC to recognise our client as the candidate. By the provision of the Electoral Act, the name of our client should have been forwarded to INEC, not otherwise.”

But Adeyemo’s counsel Akinyemi Akintayo said the suit lacked merit. He urged the court to dismiss it.

He said: “The court adjourned the case in view of the fact that we filed a preliminary objection to the competence of the suit. We are asking the court to terminate the suit on the strength that the action lacks merit. The constitution of the action is improper before the court.”

Justice E.F Esan of the Oyo State High Court adjourned the case .Copyright:  Nation Newspapers