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A Federal High Court sitting in Bwari Area Council, Abuja on Tuesday nullified the nomination of Senator Ademola Adeleke as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) in the September 2018 governorship election in Osun State.
Few days to the governorship election, two chieftains of the All Progressives Congress(APC), Wahab Raheem and Adam Habeeb dragged Adeleke to court, accusing him of not possessing the requisite educational qualification (secondary school certificate) to contest for office of the governor.
They prayed the court for an order to disqualify Adeleke from participating in the governorship election in the state on the grounds that he does not possess the requisite educational qualification.
Delivering judgment on Tuesday, Justice Othman Musa annulled Adeleke’s nomination on the grounds that Adeleke did not comply with section 177 of the 1999 constitution as amended. The section stipulated that candidates for the position of governor must be educated up to secondary school level.
According to Justice Musa, while the court’s findings showed that Adeleke entered secondary school in 1976, there was no record to show that he actually graduated as his name was no longer seen in the school’s register from 1980.
Justice Musa further stated that the result Adeleke attached to his form CF001 which he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) was fake, as it was found to be different from the one presented to the court by the principal of Ede Muslim High School, Ede, Osun State.
Meanwhile, Adeleke’s counsel, Nathaniel Oke(SAN) faulted the judgment of on the grounds that the judge erred in law by going out of his way to source for evidence to arrive at his “unjust conclusion.”
He submitted that the court erred particularly when it ignored the evidence given by West African Examination Council(WAEC) that Adeleke was educated up to secondary school level as required by law.
He disclosed that they will appeal the judgment, adding that the judgment cannot stand at the Appeal Court.
READ: Osun: Team gives 4 reasons why judgment nullifying Adeleke’s candidature won’t stand
