Court upholds Adetimehin as Ondo APC chairman

The Ondo State High Court sitting in Akure, the state capital yesterday dismissed a suit, filed by Idowu Otetubi and Gani Muhammed, in which they are laying claim to the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

The duo, who claimed to be the authentic Chairman and Secretary of APC in the state, sued Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC) through their counsel, Tolu Babaleye.

They prayed the court to direct ODIEC to recognise Idowu Otetubi as the authentic Chairman of APC in Ondo State.

They also sought an injunction to restrain ODIEC from accepting the list of candidates for local government election from the Adetimehin-led Executive.

Counsel to ODIEC, Charles Titiloye, listed four grounds for a preliminary objection to hear the suit.

The lawyer prayed the court to strike out the suit, saying it was grossly incompetent and an abuse of court processes.

Titiloye contended that the suit was an intra-party affairs and not justifiable.

He averred that issues raised therein could only be adjudicated when complaining parties had fulfilled the condition precedent to filing of suit in court, as provided for by APC’s constitution.

Titiloye argued that the suit was a gross abuse of court process in view of the fact that the same claimants filed similar suit on the same matter against the defendants before the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The lawyer noted that legal representative capacity of “purported Ondo State Executive Committee of APC” was not known to law.

He added that by the rules Ondo State High Court, actions could only be commenced by a claimant and not a plaintiff.

The lawyer urged the court to dismiss the suit as incompetent.

Also, counsel to APC and Adetimehin, B. A. Aderosin, urged the court to strike out the suit on the ground that the claimants lacked the locus standi to file the suit.

Justice Bode Adegbehingbe held that the suit filed by Otetubi and Mohammed was an abuse of court process.

He held that it constituted multiplicity of actions by the same claimants before different courts.

Also, the APC in Ondo State yesterday hailed the court ruling.

A statement by its Director of Media and Publicity, Steve Otaloro, said: “We salute the courage of the court justice, who has further asserted the independence of the Judiciary in Nigeria.

“The outcome of the judgment has once again rekindled the hope of average Nigerian on the Judiciary as the last hope of the people.

“The judgment is also good for democracy in Nigeria because APC has shown tenacity and the ability to lead Nigeria as an egalitarian society based on the rule of law.