The All Progressives Congress and the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission has broken silence on the pending suit challenging the appointment of Hashim Abioye as the Chairman of the commission.
The APC in a statement by Kola Olabisi on Sunday revealed that the suit filed by the Party has been heard and adjourned to February 19, 2025.
A statement by Olabisi read in part, “Contrary to the post made on Facebook by Barr. Hashim Akintunde Abioye few months ago that there is no pending case against him as OSSIEC chairman, it is a tissue of lies. He is the 7th Defendant in this case and OSSIEC is the 8th Defendant. He cannot survive the thick and strong case against him for constitutional infractions. Barr. Abioye is sitting on a keg of legal gun powder which shall explode very soon. Any person purportedly elected on 22/02/2025 through local government elections to be illegally conducted under the leadership of Barr Hashim Akintunde Abioye only earns a pyrrhic victory which cannot last.
The plaintiff, among other reliefs is asking the court to declare the appointment of Barr. Hashim Akintunde Abioye unconstitutional with an order setting aside same and removing him from office;an order restraining INEC from releasing voters registers to OSSIEC to conduct local government election until Barr. Hashim Akintunde Abioye is removed from office and OSSIEC is re- constituted; an order restraining the Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly and the House from accepting from the Governor and screening any other registered member of a political party to be appointed as OSSIEC chairman; an order directing the AGF and the State AG to guide the Governor on constitutional provisions in the appointment of persons into the State Electoral Body not to appoint any registered member of a political party any more.”
Reacting to the statement the OSSIEC in a statement by its information officer, Sadiat Isiaka clarified that no injunction or any other of a court against the process.
She said, “There are two other cases before the Federal High Court, sitting in Osogbo, one was filed by the APC against the appointment of the OSSIEC Chairman, Hashim Abioye Esq., while the other was filed by the SDP seeking the nullification of the process of the local government elections. The one filed by the SDP is coming up on Monday 20th January, 2025, we will not say more about that.
“The one seeking the disqualification of the person of the OSSIEC Chairman has been slated for hearing before the Federal High Court. We are to clarify that there is no restraining order against the OSSIEC Chairman, there is no order stopping the election and there is nothing against the process of the election as the suit is about the eligibility of the present OSSIEC Chairman which case is not yet heard. We must add that the Federal High Court is the Court of first instance in this particular suit, as there are two other levels of Court above the Federal High Court to settle the matter therein. We understand the propaganda being shared all over social media platforms as if the Federal High Court has disqualified or sanctioned the OSSIEC Chairman which insinuation only exists in the wild imagination of the promoter. We reiterate that the suit is still pending before the Federal High Court and the Commission will not go the way of media propaganda being shared all over postulating and promoting reliefs that are never before the Court in a suit that is well established as a personal attack, malice and vendetta against the OSSIEC Chairman who effectively resigned his membership of the political party he initially belonged long before his appointment. That is what the promoters of falsehood are brandishing all over. They have even written judgement in favour of themselves on the social media. For reason of subjudice, we will not go into details here as against the unwelcome, embarrassing and unwarranted attitude of the promoters of lies.
The two other suits before the State High Court were also filed by the APC. One is for the APC mainly to have some its purported candidates to be on the ballot for the election. Note that the said purported candidates were never those submitted by the APC in its list of candidates to the Commission after conduct of primaries. They are battling their way in Court and there is no order stopping the process of the election in anyway. The suit has been adjourned till 10th February, 2025 for hearing. The other suit before the State High Court was also filed by the APC challenging the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (Amendment No.1) Law, 2024, regarding constitution of the Election Tribunals. That suit is yet to be given date and the Commission just got hint of the said latest suit filed on 30/12/2024.
We wish to inform the general public to remain focused as the election process proceeds seamlessly, legitimately and steadily without hitches, and ultimately the Commission says there is no cause for alarm.
