ABEOKUTA – A factional governorship candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun state, Otunba Segun Showunmi, has urged his supporters not to worry about the judgement of a Federal High Court, Abeokuta which on Tuesday nullified the primary elections conducted by Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu controlled camp of the party.
Otunba Segun Showunmi while reacting to the court judgement described it as another bold moves to strengthen democratic ideals and ensure that the choice of party’s candidates was not handpicked by just a few but by larger party members eligible to do that under the electoral act.
Showunmi said, the judgement however has nothing to do with the lawsuit he had instituted against the party in the state seeking the dissolution of the leadership of the party while also asking the court to bar them from conducting the 2023 primaries over allegation of bias.
The High Court sitting at Abeokuta had dismissed the case for lacking in jurisdiction but an Abuja Appeal Court had ordered the case be heard on merit.
Showunmi, while urging his followers to keep hope alive and never stop mobilising support for the victory of PDP both at the at the state and national level revealed that he was very sure that the court will soon serve the much awaited justice as he remains sincerely set to redefine governance in the state
As things stand now, the former Spokesman to PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar said he is now the party’s governorship candidate for the state
It would be recalled that three members of the party, Taiwo Olabode Idris, Kehinde Akala and Alhaji Ayinde Monsuri had dragged the party, Ladi Adebutu and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to court challenging the authenticity of the delegates’ lists used
The primary elections had among others produced Hon Ladipupo Adebutu as the party’s governorship candidate
for the state but the these party members had argued that the list of delegates used were not democratically elected at the ward congress and therefore the congress
Giving his judgement on Tuesday, Justice O.O Oguntoyinbo annulled all the PDP primaries election and ordered the party to conduct another primaries within the next 14 days.
The court also barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognizing Hon. Ladi Adebutu as the governorship candidate of the party in the state.
