The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seeking to restore the nullification of the participation of Osun ex-Governor Gboyega Oyetola and Deputy Governor Benedict Alabi in the July 16, 2022 governorship election.
A judgment by a five-member panel of justices led by Centus Nweze held that the appeal by the PDP was without merit and directed the lawyer to the PDP, Kehinde Ogunwumiju, to withdraw it.
The court held that the PDP could not, under the law, question the process leading to the emergence of Mr Oyetola and Alabi as candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the election.
Justice Emeka Nwite of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court had, in a judgment on September 30, 2022, nullified the participation of Oyetola and Alabi in the governorship election on the grounds that their nomination forms were endorsed by an acting chairman of APC, Governor Mai Mala Buni.
Mr Nwite’s judgment was set aside by the Court of Appeal, Abuja, in a judgment in December 2022, a decision the PDP appealed to the Supreme Court.
NAN