COURT DISMISSES APC MEMBER’S SUIT SEEKING DISQUALIFICATION OF EKITI REP CANDIDATE
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
The Federal High Court in Ekiti State on Thursday dismissed a suit filed by an All Progressives Congress member, Bayo Babalotin, seeking the disqualification of the party’s House of Representatives candidate for Ekiti South Federal Constituency I, Toyin Okoro.
Babalotin filed the suit, marked FHC/AD/CS/19/2026, alleging that Okoro failed to resign his appointment as a public servant before emerging as the APC candidate in the party’s primary election.
The suit was instituted against Okoro, the APC national leadership and the party’s Ekiti State chapter.
However, Okoro and the APC challenged Babalotin’s right to institute the action, arguing that he was not an aspirant in the primary election and therefore lacked the legal standing to contest its outcome.
In his judgment, Justice Babs Kuewumi held that Babalotin failed to demonstrate how Okoro’s candidacy adversely affected his interests.
The judge also ruled that the plaintiff lacked the legal standing, known as locus standi, to challenge the outcome of a primary election in which he did not participate.
Dismissing the suit, Kuewumi said, “The claimant (applicant) lacked the locus standi to institute the case. The issue of locus standi is pivotal. The claimant cannot challenge an APC primary election in which he was not a participant.”
Earlier, the judge struck out the name of the APC Ekiti State chapter as the third defendant, holding that a political party was a single entity and that the state chapter and national body could not be separately sued in the matter.
Counsel for Okoro, Dr Femi Ogunade, welcomed the judgment, arguing that only an aspirant who participated in a party primary could challenge its conduct or validity in court.
“The court dismissed the suit on the ground that it is only an aspirant who can contest the conduct and the validity of a primary election, not an interloper or a busybody like the plaintiff in this matter,” Ogunade said.
He maintained that the case centred on whether Babalotin had the legal right to institute the action in the first place.
According to him, the judgment was consistent with Section 285 of the Constitution and the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act, which he said restrict such challenges to aspirants who participated in the party primary.
Ogunade expressed confidence that the ruling had cleared the way for Okoro’s candidacy, adding that the central issue had been resolved by the court’s finding that the plaintiff lacked the right to bring the suit.
Also reacting, a supporter of the candidate, Ayodeji Aluko, described the judgment as a welcome development, saying Okoro enjoyed considerable support among residents of the constituency.
Aluko, who is also a lawyer, said the ruling confirmed that Babalotin was not entitled to challenge the candidate’s emergence because he had not participated in the primary election.
He added that communities in the constituency were seeking a change in representation and expressed confidence in Okoro’s acceptability among voters.
The court’s decision brings the suit to an end at the trial court, although any further legal steps would depend on whether the parties pursue an appeal.
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