Edo poll: Court decides Imasuagbon, Akpata LP candidacy tussle July 19
A Federal High Court sitting in Benin presided over by Justice Babatunde Quadri has reserved judgment till the 19 July, 2024, on the candidacy tussle in the Labour Party Governorship primaries conducted on February 23, 2024.
Kenneth Imasuagbon had approached the High Court in Benin and Abuja, challenging the nomination of Olumide Akpata as the candidate of the party for the governorship election slated for September 21st, 2024.
He is challenging the nomination of Akpata because the Labour Party party (second defendant) did not follow the electoral guidelines in the primaries and he (Olumide) did not fill and sign the indemnity form among other grounds.
After two adjournments, the case eventually came up for hearing on Tuesday (today) where written addresses from counsels of the plaintiff and defendants were adopted.
Lead counsel to the plaintiff, A. A Malik (SAN), in his argument, had prayed the court to dismiss the submission of the counsels to Akpata on the ground that the 1st defendant violated the electoral act and party’s constitution which he noted are critical elements of the electoral processes.
Malik also pointed out that the plaintiff had disclosed reasonable cause of action on the matter and urged the court to throw away the submission of the 1st defendant, declare and return the plaintiff as the winner or on the alternative void, nullify the primary election and order a fresh election.
He alleged that the conduct of the LP primaries was marred with over-voting which runs contrary to the party guidelines and the constitution.
On his part, the counsel to the defendant, Kadiri Asamah (SAN) said that the argument and submission of the plaintiff is baseless and can’t be litigated upon by the court adding that it was a pre-primary issue and as such be dismissed by the court.
Asamah, while adopting all the arguments contained in his written addresses urged his Lordship to dismiss the written addresses of the plaintiff, adding that it was an abuse of court processes.
After listening to both parties, the judge looked at his calendar and said, “July 19 for judgment.”
Addressing newsmen after the court session, Imasuagbon expressed confidence in the ability of the court to dispense justices in the matter, reiterating his desire to bring about a better Edo State for all.
“I am confident in the ability of the court will dispense justice in this matter. We have taken the right step by taking the matter to court to clear any ambiguity.
“I desire to see that Edo State becomes better for everyone and hopefully we will be able to realize that in the near future.”
