A former governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Ondo State, Dr. Tunji Abayomi has said that the governorship candidate of the Alliance for Democracy, Chief Olusola Oke was not qualified to contest the November 26, governorship election .
He called on the Independent National Electoral Commission to disqualify Oke and his running mate, Mr. Gani Dauda, for allegedly not being eligible to contest the forthcoming poll.
Abayomi, who spoke with DAILY POST in Akure , the Ondo State capital on Wednesday, stated that both Oke and his deputy did not participate in the primary election of the AD, which according to him was against the Electoral Act as amended.
He further alleged that the duo got the nomination of the AD through a back-door arrangement.
The legal practitioner said, “Nobody can contest an election in the country unless he or she is a member a political party, in the case of Oke and his deputy, they never participated nor were they elected in a primary. Oke can only be a candidate of the APC where he contested but he didn’t win the primary of the APC.
“Electoral Act says he must be elected by the members of AD and they must vote for him in a primary. A party is not allowed to nominate a candidate without the candidate participating in the primary of the party.”
He said it was against the Electoral Act for the AD to nominate Oke to INEC as its candidate, somebody that had not participated in the party’s primary.
According to him, “Faleke’s case in Kogi State did not stand because he did not go through the primary and he was not voted for by members of the party. So under the law, Oke is not qualified and his deputy are also not qualified to contest the election. He (Oke) only embarks on voyage of discovery.”
He blamed the INEC for including Oke’s name in the list of the eligible candidates that would contest the election in Ondo State, pointing out that the electoral commission did not attend or supervise the primary that produced Oke as the candidate of the AD.
However, in a swift reaction, the Director-General of the Olusola Oke Campaign Organization, Mr. Bola Ilori said publishing the name of Oke in the list of the candidates by the INEC had testified that he was eligible to contest the election, adding that the nomination process of the AD candidate followed due process .
He said, ” Dr. Abayomi is not a member of the AD and he has no right to be interfering in the affairs of our party. He should face the internal problem in his party. Nomination of Oke as the AD candidate followed due process, that is why INEC published his name .
“It amuses me when somebody of another party is talking panadol for the headache of another party.”
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