PDP aspirant sues Shelle over mandate transfer

An aspirant to the House of Representatives on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Abdulkabir Lawal, has sued the party’s Lagos chairman, Capt. Olatunji Shelle, for allegedly transferring his mandate to one Adebola Gbabijo.

Lawal accused Shelle of giving the party’s mandate to Gbabijo who polled 28 votes in the PDP primary where Lawal claimed to have been declared winner with 29 votes.

The applicant, on Tuesday, appeared before a Federal High Court in Lagos, seeking a declaration that he is the authentic PDP candidate representing Epe Federal Constituency for election into House of Representatives.

Lawal, through his lawyer, Dr. Yemi Oke, prayed Justice Mohammed Yunusa to order the Independent National Electoral Commission to expunge Gbabijo’s name from its register and replace same with his own.

Joined as respondents in the action marked FHC/AB/CS/43/2015 are Shelle, Gbabijo, PDP and INEC.

Though the applicant, through a motion ex parte, urged Yunusa to make an order of interim injunction restraining INEC from recognising Gbabijo as the PDP candidate for Epe Federal Constituency, the judge, however, declined and rather asked that the respondents should be served with the court’s papers.

He subsequently adjourned till March 16, 2015 for hearing of the substantive suit.

“The respondents should be served with all the processes in relation to the motion on notice,” Yunusa said.

Lawal, in an affidavit filed in support of the motion ex parte and deposed to by himself, explained that though both himself and Gbabijo had each polled 29 votes in the PDP primary held on December 6, 2014, he (Lawal) was however declared winner as one of Gbabijo’s votes was voided.

According to Lawal, it was discovered that Gbabijo had one proxy vote, which was a vote on behalf of a former treasurer of the party, who was already deceased as of the time of the election.

“By virtue of the report of the Lagos State Electoral Panel, the proxy vote was voided and I was declared winner having polled 29 votes, while my opponent polled 28 votes at the primary.

“But to my utmost chagrin, I was denied the Form CF001 at the PDP secretariat by the 1st respondent on the grounds that the election for the Epe Federal Constituency is inconclusive.

“To my utter chagrin, the 2nd respondent was handed the Form CF001 and purportedly nominated as the 3rd respondent’s candidate for Epe Federal Constituency.

“It is clear that I have been denied my constitutional right by the 1st, 2nd and 3rd respondents by the substitution of my candidacy for the 2nd respondent.”

The applicant therefore prayed the court to, by the combined effects of sections 87 (1), (2), (3) and (4) (c) (i) (ii) of the Electoral Act, 2010, invalidate Gbabijo’s nomination to INEC and order his own recognition as the candidate for Epe Federal Constituency into the House of Representatives on the platform of the PDP.