The Ebonyi South Senatorial Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the February 3rd 2024 By-election, Silas Onu has vowed to appeal the ruling of the Tribunal that struck out his petition against the Judges over alleged bias, injustice and lack of fair hearing in his election petition.

The ruling was sequel to a petition filed to the President of the Court of Appeal and copied to the Tribunal Panel seeking their recusal from the bye-election Tribunal by the PDP candidate.

The three-man panel headed by Justice H.N Kunaza dismissed Onu’s petition for lack of merit.

Delivering the ruling by the Tribunal sitting in Abakaliki, Justice Kunaza who was flanked by Justice Bassey Bassey Nkanang and Justice M.O Agboola, said the PDP candidate failed to prove allegations of lack of fair hearing, bias and injustice in his petition.

Meanwhile, the petitioner noted that he would immediately appeal the ruling, insisting that he had lost confidence in the ability of the panel to dispense justice in the election petition by the panel.

Onu queried why the Panel didn’t suspend all actions to await the decision of the President of the Court of Appeal, saying: “I will also make a personal letter to the panel to know why they are more interested in the election petition than me and why they aren’t staying all actions to await the decision of the President of the Court of Appeal. We will also appeal their ruling. I don’t have any confidence in the panel. They have to go, for justice to prevail in our election petitions”.

Onu’s counsel, Caleb Onwe said he would immediately apply for the certified true copy of the ruling and study it for urgent actions.

Meanwhile, counsel to Senator Anthony Okorie and second respondent, Roy Nweze commended the ruling but expressed dissatisfaction that no cost was awarded against the petitioner to serve as a deterrent to anyone who tries to malign the integrity of Judges.

Nweze said: “Even if the tribunal had chosen to recuse itself, that is nothing to me because there’s a type of case you will have, you wouldn’t even mind your enemy to decide it. The petition is like a used toilet tissue”.

The counsel to APC, Jerry Ezenyi added that the ruling was excellent and perfect.

He also added that he wouldn’t have felt bad even if the tribunal had decided to recuse itself as petitioned.

Ezenyi said: “The ruling is perfect and excellent. The tribunal’s reason is sound both in law and facts.

Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja has ordered the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to file their defense in a suit seeking removal of Aiyedatiwa as APC gubernatorial candidate for November election.

The judge ordered that the three defendants must file their respective defence within days allowed by law since the suit is a time bound one.

The order of the court followed a claim by the APC that it had written a letter to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court requesting for transfer of the case from Abuja to Ondo State.

At Tuesday’s proceedings, APC lead counsel, Tayo Oyetibo, informed the court that his client had forwarded a letter to the Chief Judge praying for movement of the case from the Abuja division to Akure division.

He, however, admitted that APC had not received any response to the letter.

In response, Justice Ekwo held that there was no letter before him and as such, cannot act on anything not before the court.

Instead, the judge ordered that, with or without the letter before him, the defendants must respond to the issues raised by the plaintiff, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, against the conduct of the primary election that produced Aiyedatiwa as the APC gubernatorial candidate.

APC, in its letter by Matthew Bukkar SAN, dated May 12, but received in Chief Judge’s Office on May 13, 2024, claimed that the primary election being challenged was conducted in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

It explained that it has a functional office in Akure with State Working Committee on ground and that the electoral body also has office in Akure.

Besides, APC said that Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, whose candidacy is being challenged, is resident in Akure.

The party, therefore, said that Akure division of the Federal High Court is the approximate convenient place for the case to be determined.

However, counsel to the plaintiff, Chief Chris Uche SAN, was prevented from reacting to the letter on the ground that the said letter was not before the court.

After issuing the order, Justice Ekwo fixed May 29 for hearing of the suit with a warning that all processes in respect of the suit must be filed and exchanged by parties.

Ibrahim, who is representing Ondo South in the Senate, is praying the court to cancel the nomination of Aiyedatiwa as APC candidate on the ground that the April 20 primary election that produced him was unlawful.

In the suit instituted on his behalf by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chris Uche, Ibrahim, a governorship aspirant who participated in the primary election, alleged that the poll was marred with a lot of irregularities.

Among others, the Senator claimed that sections 221, 228 of the 1999 Constitution and that of 84 of the Electoral Act 2022 were grossly violated in the conduct of the disputed primary election by the APC.

He alleged that some delegates who could have voted for him at the primary election were not accredited to vote thereby making the primary election liable to be set aside and nullified.

He is therefore praying the court to bar INEC from accepting Governor Aiyedatiwa as the APC governorship candidate in the coming November 16 gubernatorial election in Ondo State.

The Senator also sought an order of perpetual injunction prohibiting governor Aiyedatiwa from holding himself out or parading himself as the APC governorship candidate.

Similarly, Ibrahim wants the court to set aside the purported primary election and compel the APC to conduct a fresh one in compliance with sections 221, 228 of the 1999 Constitution and that of 84 of the Electoral Act 2022.

The aggrieved governorship aspirant prayed the Federal High Court to delist the names of the APC and Aiyedatiwa from the political parties and candidates that would participate in the gubernatorial poll .

Plaintiff further requested that APC and Governor Aiyedatiwa be stripped of all rights except a fresh primary election is lawfully conducted for the purpose of nominating candidates for the governorship election.

At Tuesday’s proceedings, Tayo Oyetibo SAN stood for APC, Bode Olanipekun SAN for Governor Aiyedatiwa and Charles Edosanwan SAN represented INEC.

Former Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola has removed all paraphernalia of the All Progressives Congress, APC, from his campaign office.

The campaign office which is domiciled inside the four-storey building at Ayinke Towers, rechristened Oranmiyan House is located along the Gbongan-Ibadan road in Osogbo, the state capital.

The highrise building served as Aregbesola’s campaign office and later the office of The Osun Progressives, TOP, before its dissolution in 2022.

The white-coloured building which hitherto wore the colours of APC and with several poles bearing flags of the party and the National flags adorning its frontage, has been given a distinctly new look.

This development is coming as preparations are being set in motion for the 2026 gubernatorial election in the state.

The insignia and identity of APC and the gigantic photos of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former governor and later APC National Chairman, Bisi Akande and the ex-President Muhammadu Buhari which formerly adorned the building have been removed.

DAILY POST observed that they have been replaced with equally large size images of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the late Chief Bola Ige and with the former Minister of Interior, Raid Aregbesola’s picture inserted in the middle.

Also, the huge inscription of the APC logo has finally been replaced with that of the Omoluabi Progressive Caucus.

DAILY POST gathered that the same remodelling was carried out at Aregbesola’s campaign office in his Ilesa hometown.

Reacting to the development, a member of the Omoluabi Progressive Caucus in Ilesa, Kazeem Olanrewaju said, they are trying to return to the progressive ideas that led to the creation of the APC.

Olanrewaju posited that “Tinubu and Akande have both derailed from the progressive ideas, saying the progressive politics which started with Awolowo and Bola Ige, is not about power, but abouyt about impacting lives.”

He condemned Tinubu’s government for having “no achievement in a year of running Nigeria. What is progressive about running Nigeria for a year without achievement.”

Olanrewaju, however, assured that the APC logos and banners would be brought back later.

In his words, “we will bring back banners later.”

Aregbesola fell out with Tinubu following his outburst against the president in January 2022.

He was also observed to be visibly absent during all the APC rallies across the country before the 2023 presidential election.