Supreme Court Affirms Oyebanji’s APC Candidacy, Dismisses Olawumi’s Appeal

The Supreme Court has affirmed the nomination of Ekiti State Governor Abiodun Oyebanji as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the June 20 governorship election, dismissing the appeal filed by aggrieved party aspirant Abimbola Olawumi.

In a unanimous judgment delivered on Friday, a five-member panel of the apex court upheld the June 18 decision of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, holding that Olawumi's appeal lacked merit.

Justice Mohammed Idris, who delivered the lead judgment, ruled that the appeal was incompetent and that the reliefs sought by the appellant could not be granted.

Olawumi had challenged the process that produced Oyebanji as the APC governorship candidate, alleging that she was unlawfully prevented from participating in the party's primary election and asking the court to nullify the outcome.

The Supreme Court upheld objections to applications filed by Olawumi on July 16 and July 23 seeking to regularise her notice of appeal and her appellant's brief.

Justice Idris found that the written address accompanying the July 16 application was unsigned and that its pagination exceeded the limit prescribed under Order 4 Rule 1 of the Supreme Court Rules. The court consequently struck out the applications and the accompanying written addresses.

The apex court also held that the first three grounds of appeal were incompetent because they did not arise from the judgment of the Court of Appeal. Consequently, the issues formulated from those grounds were also struck out.

On the remaining grounds, the Supreme Court ruled that the Court of Appeal was right in holding that Olawumi's brief was incompetent despite her pending application to regularise it.

The court further upheld the appellate court's refusal to invoke its powers under Section 15 of the Court of Appeal Act to hear the substantive originating summons as a court of first instance.

Justice Idris held that the Court of Appeal could not exercise such powers after affirming the Federal High Court's finding that the suit was statute-barred.

The Supreme Court also declined Olawumi's request for it to invoke its powers under Section 22 of the Supreme Court Act to determine the substantive suit, noting that the constitutional 180-day period for the determination of pre-election matters had already expired.

The judgment brings the legal challenge against Oyebanji's nomination to an end, affirming his candidacy as the APC flagbearer in the Ekiti governorship election.