An Osun State High Court in Osogbo on Monday struck out a suit challenging Senator Iyiola Omisore as the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the September 22 state guber poll.
It would be recalled that two state officers of the SDP, Alhaji Rasheed Mayowa and Chief Azeez Alakinde-Ismaila, had approached the court to compel the party’s national body not to allow a fresh congress but to stand by the congress which produced the executives of SDP in the state in 2016 and which their tenure would expire by 2020.
The applicants also told the court that the congress which produced Senator Omisore as the party’s candidate was illegal having being conducted contrary to two respective court orders.
At Monday’s hearing, the applicants’ counsel, Barr. Olayinka Sokoya, argued that the matter was beyond the internal running of the party but was premised on the constitution of the party.
He further argued that the defendants’ disposition against his applications before the court be discountenance, noting that disobeying court orders had rendered everything done by Omisore’s group null and void.
Sokoya prayed the court to sack all the executives elected by the factional SDP congress led by Dr Bayo Faforiji and declare all actions taken so far as unconstitutional including, the primary it conducted which produced Senator Omisore.
He also asked to court to fully restore all powers back to the Chief Ademola Ishola led executive which produced an Iwo indigene, Barr. Kehinde Atanda, as the governorship candidate.
But the counsel of the national secretariat of the SDP, Barr. Kehinde Adesiyan, asked the court to dismiss in its entirety all the applications filed by the applicants, arguing that the court lacks jurisdiction to entertain the suit in the first instance.
Also, Omisore’s counsel, Barr. Adeyemi Adetife, who aligned   with Adesiya, explained that his client has nothing to do with the suit, wondering why he will be joined in the matter before the court.
Counsel to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Barr. Vilba Kinta explained that as an umpire in election matters, the body has nothing to do with the internal problem of the party.
However, the applicants were said to have filed application for withdrawal of the suit after intervention by some stakeholders.
When briefed about the settlement out of court, the presiding judge, Justice David Oladimeji, struck out the case.
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
