Court upholds Oyo PDP ward congress

A Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, ruled that the list of the Oyo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) delegates validated by three of the five members of the Aliyu Idi Hong ad hoc ward congress panel should be used for primary elections in Oyo State
In the ruling delivered by E.S. Chukwu, the court declared that the only valid list of PDP delegates in Oyo State for the selection of any candidate for the 2015 elections “is the list of candidates who emerged from the ward congresses held on the 24th day of November, 2014 in the 351 wards in Oyo State, as contained in Exhibit ‘G’ of the originating summons.”
This followed a suit instituted by an aspirant for the House of Assembly in Ibadan North-East, Ademola Adelowo Aremu, which asked the court to declare the delegates’ list presented by three members of the panel, Tony Macfoy, Aminu Muhammed and Tayo Omojowogbe, as contained in Exhibit ‘G’ of the affidavit in support of the originating summons the valid and authentic one.
The suit had the PDP’s National Working Committee (NWC), national legal adviser, Victor Kwon, national organising secretary, Abubakar Mustapha, chairman of the electoral committee, Aliyu Idi Hong, Ndoma Egodo, as well as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as first to sixth defendants respectively.
Aremu also prayed the court to declare that the fourth and fifth defendants had no right to submit to the first defendant any list of delegates during the primary elections in Oyo State for the selection of candidates to run for the state House of Assembly, National Assembly and the governor of Oyo State.