Fayose Sings "won kere si numba wa"

Ekiti State governor-elect, Ayo Fayose, on Monday, argued that only a Federal High Court is competent to hear the suit challenging his eligibility to contest June 21, 2014 governorship election in Ekiti


He told an Ado-Ekiti High Court in a case brought against him by a socio-cultural organisation, ‘E-eleven’ and Citizens Party, on the matter.

Fayose’s lead counsel, Raji Ahmed, said the case should be transferred to the Federal High Court since it involved both INEC and national secretariat of PDP.

Ahmed said the case in which the plaintiffs sought to stop his client from contesting the June 21 governorship election was already belated.

According to him, the case had no value again, as the election under consideration had been contested and won by his client.

He added that the case filed at the court was sent to Abuja addresses of both INEC and PDP, who were joined in the case, and should, therefore, be declared null and void.

But the lead counsel to Citizen’s Party, Norrison Quakers, opposed the defendant’s counsel, saying the case still had substance regardless of whether the election at hand had been conducted or not.

Also, counsel to the’ E-Eleven’, Raufu Balogun, insisted that the court had jurisdiction to try the case, and should, therefore, not be stuck out.

He urged the court to dismiss the plaintiff’s counsel’s submission for lacking in merit, citing Section 31 of the Electoral Act. Justice Olusegun Ogunyemi later adjourned the case till July 18 for ruling. He asked all the parties to submit their written applications on or before the said date.

‘E-Eleven’ and Citizens Party had gone to the court to challenge the eligibility of Fayose and asked it to stop him from participating in the last election.