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ONDO, Nigeria - The New Nigeria Peoples Party and its governorship candidate in the November 16 Ondo State election, Mr. Gbenga Edema, have differed over Edema’s suit challenging the eligibility of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to contest the election.
The NNPP national leadership disowned Edema’s suit on Wednesday during a hearing at the Federal High Court in Akure.
Ahead of the poll, Edema had filed the suit, urging the court to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission to disqualify Governor Aiyedatiwa and his running mate, Dr. Olayide Adelami, from participating in the poll.
The plaintiff also sought the court’s interpretation of Section 15 of the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) regarding the nomination process of the All Progressives Congress, which produced Aiyedatiwa as the governorship candidate.
Listed as defendants in the suit were INEC, the APC, Aiyedatiwa, and Adelami.
At Wednesday’s proceedings, NNPP’s National Legal Adviser, Mr. Robert Hon, distanced the party from Edema’s suit.
He stated that the NNPP did not authorise any legal action against Governor Aiyedatiwa and his deputy and urged the court to remove the party’s name from the case.
The legal adviser’s letter, dated December 10, 2024, and addressed to Adelanke Akinrata, explicitly instructed the party’s counsel to withdraw the NNPP from the suit.
The letter read: “The second plaintiff did not instruct the first plaintiff or anybody to sue the defendants in its name. You are requested to liaise with the office of the National Legal Adviser for further details.”
Governor Aiyedatiwa’s counsel, Mr. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), presented the letter to the court and urged the plaintiffs to withdraw the suit.
Supporting this position, another defence counsel, Mr. Remi Olatubora (SAN), described the use of the NNPP’s name without authorization as “scandalous” and called for the case to be struck out.
Edema, however, remained defiant, stating that the case had just begun.
He questioned the authenticity of the letter presented by the defence and promised to investigate its origins.
“They (defendants) just provided information to the court. How reliable that information is, the court has not determined. They claim the party is not interested in the case. We will uncover how this information reached the court and its authenticity during the next hearing,” he said.
Edema also revealed plans to consult NNPP officials to verify the claim.
Justice Toyin Adegoke noted that the suit was filed in November and that the court had five months to deliberate.
She adjourned the case to February 3, 2025, for further hearing.
