Olusola Ebiseni, the Labour Party’s nominee for the next Ondo State governorship election set for Saturday, November 16, 2024, was disqualified by the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, on Wednesday.
In a unanimous ruling—led by Justice Hamma Barka and delivered by Justice Adebukola Banjoko—the three-member panel of justices declared that “the appeal marked CA/ABJ/CV/1172/2024 brought by the Labour Party against Chief Olusola Ebiseni and two others is allowed.”
Justice Banjoko further stated that the parties to the appeal would have immediate access to the Certified True Copy of the ruling for their perusal.
In his contributing judgment, Justice Abba Mohammed concurred with the other justices’ ruling.
The Independent National Electoral Commission was previously directed by Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja to accept and recognize Olusola Ebiseni and Ezekiel Awude as the candidates of the Labour Party for the positions of governor and deputy governor, respectively, in the Ondo State governorship elections scheduled for November 16.
Justice Nwite confirmed that the Labour Party’s second primary election, which resulted in Ebiseni and Awude as the candidates for governor and deputy governor, was legitimate and ought to be recognized by INEC.
Justice Nwite acknowledged evidence that Ebiseni had paid N20 million for the nomination form and was properly handed a form that led to the conduct of the second primary election in his ruling on the complaint filed by Ebiseni and Awude, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1105/2024.
In addition, he noted that there was proof that the Labour Party had ordered Ebiseni to provide Festus Olorunfemi N5 million in exchange for his decision to drop out of the governorship contest.
Therefore, Justice Nwite directed INEC to recognize Ebiseni and Awude’s nominations and release their names as the legitimate candidates of the Labour Party for the November 16 governorship election in Ondo State.
Nevertheless, the appellate court later reversed the trial court’s decision.
