2023: Akoko South Rep Aspirant, Ategbole Returns To Court over Rerun Primary, Seeks To Be Decleard Winner

An Aspirant for the Akoko South East/Akoko Southwest Federal Constituency in Ondo State and Plaintiff in the Court Ordered Fresh Election which took place on November 29, 2022, Dr. Victor Olusegun Ategbole has again approached the Federal High Court Akure for the nullification of the election of Adegboyega Adefarati as the winner of the election, having not won lawful votes. Dr. Ategbole prayed the Court to declare him the winner of the election having scored more valid votes at the election.

In the Originating Summon taken out by his Counsel, Remi Peter Olatubora, PhD, SAN, Dr. Ategbole in one of the six (6) ” Questions for Determination (a-f) asked the Court to determine ” whether having regard to the guidelines for the nomination of candidates for the 2023 General Election of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Section 84 (8) of the Electoral Act and Consent Judgement of this Honourable Court in Suit No. FHC/AK/CS/62/22, the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th Defendants can validly remove the names of 17 delegates from the list of delegates meant for the election the subject matter of litigation in Suit No. FHC/AK/CS/62/22 when the said 17 delegates are still alive and without a fresh Congress; cause ” one of their loyalists” to present himself as Amos Torunju Adeeyo (deceased) without a fresh Congress and used the resulting fresh list of delegates with the 17 unlawfully injected delegates names and ” one of their loyalists” unlawfully presenting himself as Amos Torunju Adeeyo for fresh primary election of 29th November, 2022″.

Dr. Ategbole sought Seven (7) reliefs (a-g) from the Court chiefly among which an Order (a) “An Order of this Honourable Court nullifying the purported election of the 4th Defendant, Adegboyega Adefarati, as the winner of the fresh APC’s House of Representatives primaries held on 29th November, 2022 at St. Patrick’s Secondary School, Iwaro Oka, Oka Akoko, Akoko South West, Local Government Area of Ondo State for the selection of the House of Representatives candidate for Akoko South East/Akoko South West Federal Constituency for the 2023 House of Representatives election”.

He also asked for an order of the Court ” declaring the Plaintiff as the winner of the fresh APC’s House of Representatives primaries held on 29th November, 2022 at St Patrick’s Secondary School, Iwaro Oka, Oka Akoko, South West Local Government Area of Ondo State for the selection of the House of Representatives candidate for Akoko South East/Akoko South West Federal Constituency for the 2023 House of Representatives election.

Dr. Ategbole also sought the order of the Federal High Court for the following; “an Order mandating the 1st and 2nd Defendants to forward the name of the Plaintiff to the 3rd Defendant as the 1st Defendant’s candidate for House of Representatives election for Akoko South East/Akoko South West to be conducted on 25th February, 2023 or any subsequent date”; “an Order mandating the 3rd Defendant to accept the name of the Plaintiff as the candidate of 1st Defendant for House of Representatives election for Akoko South East/Akoko South West to be conducted on 25th February, 2023.

Finally, Dr. Ategbole sought “an Order mandating the 3rd Defendant to re-issue a fresh Certificate of Return to the Plaintiff in the event that the 1st Defendant submits the name of the 4th Defendant to the 3rd Defendant and the said 4th Defendant emerges the winner of the House of Representatives election for Akoko South East/Akoko South West to be conducted on 25th February, 2023 or any subsequent date, for the purpose of the Plaintiff being sworn in as the member representing Akoko South East/Akoko South West Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.

It would be recalled that Dr. Victor Ategbole approached the Federal High Court in Akure in June for a fresh election for the Federal Constituency when the election of May 27, 2022 was unlawfully brought to the Dome in Akure where Adeboyega Adefarati was declared the winner. The Court presided over by Hon. Justice Derin Ajayi ordered a fresh election for the Constituency after the relevant parties agreed to a Settlement out of Court leading to a Consent Judgement.

The National Secretariat of the APC subsequently fixed a fresh election for November 29, 2022 which only two of the candidates, Dr. Victor Ategbole and Adegboyega Adefarati obtained fresh forms and participated as both Dr. John Adaniken and the incubent Hon. Ade Adeogun boycotted the fresh election. The understanding was that there would not be fresh delegates election except the replacement of anyone who died or had gotten an appointment. In this guise only two persons Prince Boye Ologbese from Ward 1 Akoko South West who became a Commissioner and Mr. Amos Torunju Adeeyo from Ward 4, Akoko South West who died on August 20, 2022 were affected.

Curiously, names of 17 elected delegates who voted in the previous primaries in May, 2022 were removed and substituted with fresh names and another person impersonated the deceased and they all voted for Adegboyega Adefarati in the election. There was no fresh delegate election in the local government or the affected Wards for the fresh delegates to replace those removed.

Prior to the election, the delegates were taken to Adegboyega Adefarati house in Akungba to swear to an oath to vote for him and on the eve of the election, they were taken to Owo and camped in an hotel where they were brought in government buses and accompanied by Security agents and government officials comprising Commissioners, Sepial Advisers, Local Government Chairmen, Chairmen and Members of MDA’s and Senior Special Assistant and Senior Party officials to the venue of the election. When they got to the venue all those delegates they perceived as not loyal or whose loyalty to Adeboyega Adefarati was suspect were removed from the list of delegates and a new list was presented at the venue for the fresh primaries. The seventeen (17) delegates whose names were removed from the old list were prevented from entering the venue of the election on the day of the fresh primary.

Despite the protest of Dr. Ategbole and his agent during accreditation and voting, the election still went ahead and Adegboyega Adefarati was subsequently declared the winner of the election with 71 votes to Dr. Ategbole’s 55 votes.

Dissatisfied with the election, Dr. Ategbole therefore approached the Court for a Declaration that he is the winner of the election.