The crises rocking the Ekiti State chapter of the Mega Party of Nigeria, MPN has deepened as the Federal High Court in Ado- Ekiti on Monday, June 25, stopped the party governorship candidate, Bisi Omoyeni not to parade himself as the governorship candidate of the party.
Omoyeni, a former deputy governor of the state who the state high court replaced the party governorship candidate Dr Sunday Balogun to him last week.
Sunday Balogun went to the Federal high court today, Monday, June 25, to claim his mandate. The court has ordered the former deputy governor, Bisi Omoyeni not to parade himself as MPN governorship candidate and ordered him to stop jingle on radio stations and others social media.
The governorship election in Ekiti State which will take place on July 14, 2018, less than 19 days to the election, One of the political parties, Mega Party of Nigeria, MPN, presents Sunday Balogun through the governorship primary election conducted last month to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
On Saturday, May 12, the State Chairman, Mr Dare Adekolu led other SEC executives to conduct the governorship primary election and supervised by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. Those contesting the primaries Include; the former deputy governor of the state, Surveyor Abiodun Aluko, former Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Bode Olowoporoku, Dr Sunday Balogun where Abiodun Aluko and Bode Olowoporoku lose the primary to Dr Sunday Balogun.
Sunday Balogun got 191 votes to defeat three other contestants; Abiodun Aluko, who came second with 146 votes, Senator Bode Olowoporuku, with 72 votes and Ambassador Ayodele Ayodeji, with 7 votes, came third and fourth respectively.
The chairman of the 6-man committee of the primary election, Isah Nuhu Isah, declared 23 votes void while the number of accredited votes was put at 467.
Isah, who was impressed with the conduct of the aspirants and the delegates, commended the people for their efforts, for being patient, describing the exercise as “perfectly done.”
Later, Abiodun Aluko and Bode Olowoporoku joined another party to contest for the governorship race. Olowoporoku clicks the ticket of the Nigeria Democratic Congress Party (NDCP) to run in the July 14 governorship election in Ekiti State while Aluko clicks the ticket of Accord Party.
The Loyalists of sacked national chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Ali Modu Sheriff and Senator Buruji Kashamu (PDP-Ogun East) who joined the Mega Party of Nigeria and four other political parties adopt Mr Bisi Omoyeni as their candidate without any primary election.
Omoyeni who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), after Fayose adopted his deputy, Prof Kolapo Olusola, as the sole candidate of the party to the Social Democratic Party, SDP. Also, He boycotted the primary election of SDP which accused the State Working Committee of the party of deregistering his supporters in all the 16 local government areas.
Six weeks ago, Omoyeni dumped the Social Democratic Party, SDP to join Peoples Alliance For National Development and Liberty, PANDEL, for contesting the governorship race in the coming election in Ekiti State.
Omoyeni was given the governorship ticket on Monday, May 14, under the platform of the Peoples Alliance For National Development and Liberty, PANDEL.
On Sunday, May 27, the meeting was chaired by Senator Buruji Kashamu and the leaders of PANDEL adopt Mr Bisi Omoyeni as their candidate under the platform of the Mega Party of Nigeria, MPN.
According to the source, the Buruji group taken the party to court for failing to conduct the party congress before taking the Ekiti governorship primary election.
This is the full story:
The winner of the May 12 primary elections of the Mega Party of Nigeria (MPN) in Ekiti State, Dr Sunday Balogun, filed a suit against the adopted candidate, Chief Adebisi Omoyeni.
In the Originating Summons filed before a Federal High Court, Ado-Ekiti, on Monday, Balogun prayed the court to remove the name of Omoyeni on the grounds that he (Omoyeni) did not emerge from the primary conducted by the MPN.
Defendants in the suit are MPN, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Omoyeni and eight others. Balogun said he was in court to challenge the alleged injustice done to him.
The plaintiff averred that the substitution of his name with that of Omoyeni, a former Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, violates Section 33 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).
Balogun insisted that Omoyeni was not a member of the MPN at the time he contested and lost the primary to him (Balogun) on May 12.
The plaintiff urged the court to set aside the Terms of Settlement relied upon by the party to hand Omoyeni the ticket he (Balogun) won at the primary.
Balogun further prayed the court to grant a mandatory injunction recognizing him as the authentic MPN governorship candidate.
He expressed confidence that he would fly the flag of the MPN at the July 14 governorship poll he believed the court will do justice to his case.
Addressing his supporters after the case was filed, Balogun said he took the action to challenge the alleged injustice meted out to him after he won a keenly contested primary only to be dropped for Omoyeni.
He vowed to follow the case to a logical conclusion to retrieve his mandate saying the sanctity of the votes cast for him by delegates must be protected.
Balogun said he defeated political heavyweights like former Minister of Science and Technology,Dr. Bode Olowoporoku, another former Deputy Governor, Chief Abiodun Aluko to win a primary adjudged to be free, fair and transparent.
He said: “As at 12 midnight on June 14 when I left INEC office in Abuja, my name was yet to be substituted; I and my DG were there for more than one-and-half weeks and nobody had an idea of when the name of Omoyeni was smuggled in.
“Immediately we notified the court, we notified the Inspector General of Police. At a time in point, I arrested the National Chairman, Hamisu San Turaki and the National Secretary in Abuja and we locked them up.
“The primary was conducted and we passed through all due process. Intention form was given at cost of N1 million and the nomination form was sold to us at the rate of N5 million.
“I knew when INEC was involved that we were going to have our primary on May 12 and not only that, people were sent from other parts of the country like Ondo State, Jigawa State, Abuja and other places.
“We even went to Abuja to have a peace accord which was supervised by the national headquarters that whoever wins will be supported by others and all of us signed.”
