An aggrieved governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi, Abubakar Achimugu, has asked the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court to disqualify the candidate of the party, Ahmed Ododo, from contesting the governorship election.

Mr Ododo is the sitting governor Yahaya Bello’s anointed candidate.

Mr Achimugu approached the court through a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/584/2023.

When the matter was called on Tuesday, the plaintiff’s counsel, Josiah Daniel-Ebune, informed the court of an application seeking leave of the court to amend the originating summons.

The request, not opposed by lawyers representing the defendants, was granted by the presiding judge, Obiora Egwuatu.

The plaintiff named the APC, Mr Ododo, the deputy governorship candidate, Salami Deedat and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as first, second, third and fourth respondents in the suit.

Abdulwahab Mohammed, SAN, represented the first defendant, the APC, while Muyuzudeen Abdullahi, SAN, represented Messrs Ododo and Deedat.

INEC was not represented, despite being served with the court processes.

Subsequently, Justice Egwuatu adjourned the matter until June 14 for a hearing and ordered the plaintiff to serve INEC with the hearing notice.

The plaintiff, in the suit, is claiming that Mr Ododo breached section 182 of the constitution, section 84 of the Electoral Act, 2022, and Article 7 of the APC’s constitution in participating in the April 14 governorship primary of the party.

He said Mr Ododo was not qualified to fly the flag of the APC in the forthcoming November 11 governorship poll.

The plaintiff claimed that Mr Ododo is not qualified, having failed to resign his employment with the Kogi public service before contesting the governorship primary, which he won.

Mr Achimugu claimed that Mr Ododo’s failure to resign his appointment with the Kogi government, 30 days before the primary election, made him ineligible to contest the election in the state.

One of the issues brought before Justice Egwuatu for determination is whether Mr Ododo is eligible to participate in the forthcoming election.

This, according to the plaintiff, is in view of the fact that both at the time of submitting the nomination and expression of interest forms and the conduct and declaration of primary election results, Messrs Ododo and Deedat remained civil/ public servants and employees of Kogi government.

The plaintiff also prayed the court to declare that Messrs Ododo and Deedat, at the time of the concluded primary election of April 14 and April 15 when results were announced, were not qualified or eligible to contest.

Subsequently, the plaintiff asked the court to make an order nullifying and setting aside the screening and participation of Messrs Ododo and Deedat in the April 14 primary election of the party.

The plaintiff also prayed the court for an order compelling INEC to remove the defendants’ names from the list of candidates vying for the governorship and deputy governorship seat of Kogi and substituting the same with his name.

(NAN)