Ade Adesomoju and Peter Dada
The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed an appeal filed by the Ondo State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, against the suit of one of his opponents in the last governorship primaries of the All Progressives Congress in the state, Mr. Olusegun Abraham.
Akeredolu’s appeal is in connection with the service on him the court papers filed by Abraham to challenge his emergence as the APC’s governorship candidate in the September 3, 2016 election.
The governor had appealed to the Court of Appeal challenging the order of Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court in Abuja permitting Abraham to serve him (the governor) through substituted means.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja, on July 2017, dismissed Akeredolu’s appeal and affirmed Justice Dimgba’s order.
The governor further appealed to the Supreme Court, which also dismissed his appeal on Friday.
In a unanimous judgment on Friday, a five-man panel of the Supreme Court held that Akeredolu’s appeal lacked merit.
Justice John Okoro prepared the lead judgment, but it was read by Justice Ejembi Eko.
Justice Okoro upheld the earlier decision of the Court of Appeal and awarded N500,000 cost against Akeredolu, in favour of Abraham.
The judgment of the Supreme Court has paved the way for the Federal High Court in Abuja to continue hearing in Abraham’s suit which had been adjourned indefinitely due to Akeredolu’s successive appeals up to the Supreme Court.
Abraham’s suit is anchored on his rejection of the outcome of the APC’s September 3, 2016 primary from which Akeredolu emerged as the party’s candidate and went on to win the November 26, 2016 governorship election in the state.
But the governor on Friday described the judgment of the Supreme Court as a “non-issue”.
A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Segun Ajiboye, said, “Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), has assured the people of the state that there is no cause for alarm over the Supreme Court ruling which dismissed the appeal filed by him.
“What the Supreme court ruled on was whether the service of the Originating Process on the APC secretariat in Abuja, instead of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, was right or not.
“Governor Akeredolu, therefore, wants to state equivocally that there is no cause for alarm over the ruling delivered by the Supreme Court.”
In a statement by its Director of Media and Publicity, Ondo State chapter of the APC, Mr. Steve Otaloro, the party said “We want to urge all members of our party to remain calm and refuse to be confused on the court’s verdict, which is a mere permission to begin the hearing of the case itself.”
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