Primary election: Senator Kashamu’s group wins PDP in court

A Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital has
ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and the
National leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to accept
and process the list of candidates and delegates submitted to them by
the Adebayo Dayo-led Ogun State Executive Committee of the party for
the purpose of the 2019 general election.

The court order followed the parallel governorship primaries held on
Sunday by the Dayo-led faction and that of Sikirullahi
Ogundele-faction backed by the national leadership of the party.

The two factions of the PDP produced Shittu Adeleke and Ladi Adebutu
as governorship candidates, respectively.

However, the Dayo-led group, backed by the Senator representing Ogun
East, Buruji Kashamu, in a suit filed before the court, sought an
interlocutory order directing the INEC to accept or process delegates
and candidates produced by the group as the authentic for the next
general elections.

The suit marked FHC/AB/CS/114/2018 between Dayo-led executive and
INEC, equally joined the PDP, its National Chairman, Uche Secondus,
and the National Secretary, Ibrahim Tsauri.

Delivering his ruling on Tuesday, after an argument canvassed by
Rickey Tarfa SAN on behalf of the plaintiffs, Justice Abubakar Shittu
granted an order restraining INEC from accepting or processing
nominees except done in compliance with the court order.

Shittu granted four of six prayers of the plaintiffs.

The reliefs granted by the court are: "An interlocutory order is given
directing the 1st Defendant (INEC) to accept or process only the list
of candidates of the PDP for the 2019 general election in Ogun State
authenticated by the plaintiffs as having emerged from primaries
conducted by them for the House of Assembly, House of Representatives,
senatorial and governorship elections and submitted by the Plaintiffs
or their authorised nominees pending the hearing and determination of
the originating summons."