The Court of Appeal in Abuja has affirmed the candidacy of Governor Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti State in the forthcoming governorship election as it dismissed the appeal by a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mrs. Abimbola Olawumi who challenged the outcome of the party’s primary.
In a unanimous judgment on Thursday, a three-member panel of the appellate court, led by Justice Adebukola Banjoko, held that the appeal filed by Mrs. Olawumi was incompetent.
The Court of Appeal found that the appellant’s brief of argument was filed in contravention of the court’s rules, having exceeded the numbers allowed and proceeded to hold that the appeal was unsupported by any arguments and therefore incompetent.
Justice Banjoko, who read the lead judgment, allowed the objection raised by the respondents – the APC, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Governor Oyebanji to the competence of the appellant’s brief of argument, filed on 30 April.
The judge held that Mrs. Olawumi’s brief violated Paragraph 14(a) of the Electoral Proceedings Practice Direction 2023.
She held that the brief, having been filed in violation of the court’s rules, is incompetent and liable to be struck out.
Justice Banjoko further held that with the appellant’a brief struck out, the appeal becomes unsupported with any arguments, making it incompetent as well and liable to be dismissed.
She rejected the appellant’s request that the court invokes its power under Section 15 of the Court of Appeal Act to activate its trial jurisdiction to hear the case on the merit on the grounds that the substance of the case revolves around the the internal screening and eligibility process of the party.
Justice Banjoko held that Mrs. Olawumi’s case would have also failed even if her brief was not incompetent because issues in dispute are internal affairs of the political party and the suit statute barred, having been filed out of time as found by the trial court.
She dismissed the appeal and upheld part of the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja which earlier held among others, that the suit was filed out of time, that issues raised were not justiciable and that Oyebanji was duly nominated to contest the 20 June governorship election as the candidate of the APC.
The Court of Appeal allowed the cross-appeal filed by Governor Oyebanji to challenge part of the judgment of the Federal High Court delivered by Justice Peter Lifu.
Justice Oyebiola Oyewumi, who read the lead judgment, held among others, that the trial judge was in error when he found that the first cross respondent (Mrs. Olawumi) was an aspirant.
She resolved the sole issue identified for determination against the Mrs. Olawumi and set aside the finding by the trial judge that she is an aspirant within the contemplation of the constitution and electoral act 2022.
