A Federal High Court in Abuja has affirmed Olusola Nehemiah as the Labour Party’s governorship candidate for the Ondo State election.
Alongside Ezekiel Awude as his deputy, Nehemiah’s candidacy was validated by Justice Emeka Nwite.
Justice Nwite ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to recognize and publish their names for the November 16 poll.
The court’s decision was made in response to a joint suit filed by the Labour Party, Nehemiah, and Awude against INEC and other defendants.
The plaintiffs sought to validate the second primary election conducted by the Labour Party, which resulted in Nehemiah and Awude’s emergence as candidates.
Justice Nwite upheld the validity of the second primary election, citing compelling evidence.
He noted that Nehemiah had paid N20 million into the Labour Party’s United Bank for Africa (UBA) account for the nomination form.
Additionally, the court found that Nehemiah had been issued a nomination form, leading to his participation in the second primary election.
This, according to Justice Nwite, fulfilled the necessary conditions for his candidacy.
The judge also addressed allegations surrounding Nehemiah’s initial withdrawal from the gubernatorial race.
He pointed out that Labour Party leaders had instructed Nehemiah to pay N5 million to Olorunfemi Ayodele Festus as expenses related to his withdrawal.
Justice Nwite deemed it illegal for the Julius Abure-led Labour Party leadership to disown the fresh primary election that produced Nehemiah and Awude.
He emphasized that all conditions precedent had been met.
Consequently, the court directed INEC to accept Nehemiah and Awude’s nomination and publish their names as the Labour Party’s candidates for the Ondo State governorship election.
With this ruling, Nehemiah and Awude are now officially recognized as the Labour Party’s candidates for the upcoming election.
