IBADAN – The Federal High Court in Ibadan on Monday dismissed a suit filed by Alhaji Gbade Adeleke challenging his exclusion as a Peoples Democratic Party candidate for the House of Representatives.
Adeleke, a former Commissioner for Information in Oyo State, had asked the court to declare him the valid PDP candidate for the forthcoming election to the House of Representatives for Ibadan North East and South East Constituency.
However, ruling on a preliminary objection to the suit, Justice Ayo Emmanuel dismissed the case on the grounds that the court had no jurisdiction to hear the matter.
Emmanuel said that going by the latest decision of the Supreme Court in an election petition instituted by Terver Kakih against the Peoples Democratic Party, the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case.
He said that the matter, though arising from an electoral matter, was between Adeleke and the PDP and the involvement of INEC was only ancillary.
As a result of this, he said the suit could not be heard by the court.
Emmanuel ordered that the suit be transferred to the Oyo State High Court for relief.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the plaintiff had contended that the party failed to follow its constitution and guidelines in the conduct of it primaries.
Adeleke also averred that having scored the highest number of votes in the primaries, he was the valid candidate of the party to contest the forthcoming election.
He therefore urged the court to grant an injunction to restrain INEC from recognising the candidate presented by the party to contest for the position.
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The PDP had, however, raised objection to the suit on the grounds that the court lacked jurisdiction. (NAN)
