The Supreme Court of Nigeria on Friday affirmed the election of Dapo Abiodun as the governor of Ogun State, dismissing the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Oladipupo Adebutu.
Adebutu had challenged the outcome of the March 2023 gubernatorial election, alleging that Abiodun, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), did not comply with the Electoral Act, engaged in corrupt practices, and was not qualified to contest.
However, the apex court, in a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Tijjani Abubakar, held that Adebutu lacked the locus standi to file the suit, as he was not an aspirant of the PDP in the primary election conducted by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).
The court also held that only the NWC of the party had the power to conduct primaries, as stipulated by Section 221 of the 1999 Constitution, and that the list of candidates submitted by the NWC to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was valid.
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The court further held that the lower court erred in nullifying the primaries that produced Abiodun and other candidates of the PDP and in ordering the party to conduct fresh primaries within 14 days.
The court therefore set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court in Abeokuta, which had voided the primaries, and affirmed Abiodun as the duly elected governor of Ogun State.
Abiodun, who was re-elected for a second term, has been the governor of Ogun State since May 29, 2019.