The Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision by a five-member panel of justices, affirmed Oladipupo Adebutu as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the upcoming governorship election in Ogun State. The apex court ruled that only an aspirant who participated in a primary election conducted for the purpose of nominating candidates of a political party has the legal standing to challenge the outcome of that election. The court dismissed an appeal filed by Jimi Lawal, an aggrieved governorship aspirant from the party, who contested the list of delegates used in the primary election held on May 25, 2022. Lawal argued that the list, which included names of political appointees, did not align with the names of delegates democratically elected at the ward congresses.
In his appeal, Lawal sought a court order to invalidate the outcome of the primary election and to compel the PDP to conduct a fresh election. He also requested that the court nullify Adebutu’s nomination submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). However, both the Federal High Court and the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal dismissed his case for lack of merit. The court found that Adebutu had validly won the indirect primary election organized by the party and monitored by INEC, having received a total of 714 votes. The court noted that, contrary to Lawal’s claims, the PDP, through its Ogun State Chairman, had submitted a three-man ad-hoc delegates list to INEC prior to the primary election.
Justice Inyang Ekwo of the high court stated that Lawal failed to substantiate his allegations that the primary election was not conducted in accordance with the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and relevant sections of the Electoral Act 2022, as well as the PDP Constitution. The court also established that Lawal had defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the PDP in March 2022 and was subsequently permitted to contest in the primary election. Justice Ekwo remarked, “I find that the plaintiff is merely playing the role of a spoiler in the affairs of the 1st defendant (PDP).”
After the Court of Appeal dismissed his case, Lawal escalated the matter to the Supreme Court. However, the court dismissed three additional appeals filed by other aggrieved PDP ward delegates in Ogun State due to their failure to disclose a reasonable cause of action. The panel, led by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, ruled that the delegates, who claimed to have been disenfranchised in the primary election that produced Adebutu as the PDP flag-bearer, lacked the standing to initiate any court action against the election’s outcome since they were not aspirants.
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