An Appeal Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti state capital has upheld the judgement of the Federal High Court which held that the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Kayode Fayemi, was eligible to have contested the party’s primary.
An aspirant, Mr Segun Oni had appealed the lower court’s verdict, insisting the candidate violated electoral and constitutional provisions by not resigning 30 days to the party primaries and for contesting despite being indicted by a judicial panel of inquiry.
Oni who came second at the primary wanted the court to nullify Fayemi’s victory and nomination as the party’s candidate, and declare him the validly elected candidate of the party for its primary and the governorship poll.
But the appeal court judges unanimously held that Fayemi, though a public servant, was not an employee of the public service and thus not under compulsion to resign his position as Minister 30 days to the party primary.
The court also aligned with the lower court that Fayemi’s indictment by a Judicial panel of Inquiry does not amount to conviction by a court of competent jurisdiction and will be actionable in the case as determined.
The court, therefore, dismissed the appeal as lacking in merit and upheld the ruling of the lower court.
