By Jubril Bada
The All Progressives Congress(APC),Ondo State chapter will today and tomorrow organize a fresh primary bye- election for Akoko South East/ Akoko South West Federal Constituency of the party.
The decision was in compliance with the court judgement ordering a bye-election to be conducted for the House of Representatives by the party.
This was contained in a letter written by APC to intimate the National Electoral Commission (INEC) about the order of the court to conduct fresh election and to also be part of the election which was made available to the press.
The statement also disclosed that the bye-election will be an indirect mode of election and will be held at St. Patrick’s Secondary School, Iworo-Oka, Akoko.
According to the statement :” Following our earlier correspondence dated 24th October,2022 with ref no APC/ NHDO/INEC/19/022/135 on the above subject, wherein we requested the indulgence of the commission to postpone the conduct of the fresh primary election in Akoko South-East/South-West Federal Constituency of Ondo State until the matters under reference were judicially dispensed.
“Consequent upon the above, we therefore write to notify the Commission of the judgement of the Federal High Court, Akure Division, ordering the conduct of a fresh primary election for Akoko South-East/South-West Federal Constituency of Ondo State at the approved venue of St. Patrick’s Secondary School, Iworo-Oka, Akoko South-West Local Government Area of Ondo State which is within the subject federal constituency.
It also stated: “In compliance thereof and in tandem with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 (as amended), we shall be adopting the Indirect Mode of primary election. The repeat primary election is therefore scheduled to hold on Monday, 28th to Tuesday, 29th November, 2022 at the aforementioned approved venue
Ninety ad-hoc delegates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the party’s House of Representatives primary in Akoko South-west/South-east federal constituency had dragged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the party and its candidate for the constituency, Mr. Adegboyega Adefarati to a Federal High Court sitting in Akure seeking the nullification of the primary election result.
In a suit filed by the lawyer to the plaintiffs, A.S Subair of Femi Emmanuel Emodamori & Co., the delegates claimed that the APC did not conduct the primary that produced Adefarati as the candidate within the constituency, adding that the lawful delegates were disenfranchised as the venue of the primary was moved to Akure.b
