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A group within the camp of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State, the Unity Forum, on Thursday warned the state Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) against going ahead with the proposed local government election scheduled for Saturday, May 12.
The group asked the commission to respect a Federal High Court order that asked it to suspend the election.
Our correspondent gathered that a Federal High Court 2 sitting in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital had on Wednesday under the leadership of Justice Joyce Abdul-Malik in a brief ruling on the motion, granted the prayers of some aggrieved members of the APC from Ibarapa East Local Government Area, retraining OYSIEC from conducting election into the newly created wards pending the determination of the substantive suit.
But, OYSIEC through a statement made available to DAILY POST on Wednesday by Cosmos Oni, its Media Officer, while reacting to the court order, however, said that no amount of injunctions can stop the commission from conducting the election.
However, APC Unity Forum while reacting to OYSIEC outburst in a statement made available to our reporter by its Secretary and former Chairman, Caretaker Committee in Ibadan North West Local Government Area, Dr. Wasiu Olatunbosun on Thursday, warned the commission of the consequences of such attempt, which he said “could be tantamount to undermining the authority of the judiciary, which in itself contemptuous”.
Olatunbosun affirmed that, “There was no place in logical or legal reasoning that places state laws over the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.
He said that the statement was “Not only unfounded but also reckless and unbecoming of a legal luminary in lawyer Ajeigbe OSIEC Chairman status.”
Olatunbosun added that, “The Unity Forum of APC has condemned the state government and Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OSIEC) over a statement credited to the commission that no court judgement can stop the forthcoming election.
“This provision is contrary to section 5 of the constitution which gave adjudicatory powers to the court. Any provision which tend to oust the powers of the court, especially state law, which is inferior to the constitution, the ground norm, shall to the extent of its inconsistency, be null and void, and is of no effect. This is trite.”
“The Ajimobi-led administration twice postponed the said election due to court injunctions.
The group then called on people of the state to disregard the threat, saying that “all legal means would be pursued to bring sanity into the system.
“As all hands must be on deck to put a stop to political rascality and impunity in the state.”
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