Ondo Poll: Court Adjourns Judgment On Jegede’s Appeal Indefinitely

The Justice Ibrahim Saulawa-led panel of the Court of Appeal in Abuja has adjourned indefinitely the judgment on the appeal filed by substituted governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the forthcoming election in  Ondo State, Mr. Eyitayo Jegede.

Jegede, who belongs to the Ahmed Makarfi-led faction of the PDP, is by his appeal challenging his replacement by the Independent National Electoral Commission with Jimoh Ibrahim of Ali Modu Sheriff faction of the party as the governorship candidate for the election scheduled to take place on November 26.

The Saulawa panel also adjourned all other pending appeals, including one filed by Makarfi, relating to the dispute over the governorship ticket of the PDP in November 26 election.

The panel said on Friday when its judgments on Jegede’s and Makarfi’s appeals, which it heard between Wednesday and Thursday, were scheduled to be delivered, that it took the decision to adjourn “sine die” (indefinitely) to await the decision of the Supreme Court on interlocutory appeals filed by the respondents.

Justice Saulawa also cited the motion filed by the respondents before the Supreme Court on Thursday, asking for an order of the apex court to disband the Saulawa panel and take disciplinary action by going ahead to hear the appeal in defiance of established judicial principle.

The nine respondents led by Mr. Biyi Poroye,  who filed the motion before the Supreme Court are state officials of the Sheriff-led faction of the PDP in the South-West zone.

The appeals by Makarfi and Jegede are challenging the orders made by Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja on June 29 and October 14, 2016, which INEC acted on by dropping Jegede and replacing him with Ibrahim as the party’s standard bearer in the forthcoming election in the state.

But dissatisfied with the hearing of the appeals by the Saulawa panel despite their pending interlocutory appeals before the Supreme Court, Poroye and others had filed the motion before the apex court.