Appeal Court Upholds Oyebanji’s APC Candidacy Ahead of Ekiti Governorship Election

Ekiti State Governor, Abiodun Oyebanji, has secured a major legal victory after the Court of Appeal in Abuja affirmed his candidacy as the All Progressives Congress (APC) flagbearer for the forthcoming governorship election.

In a unanimous judgment delivered on Thursday, a three-member panel of the appellate court led by Justice Adebukola Banjoko dismissed an appeal filed by APC member, Mrs. Abimbola Olawumi, challenging the outcome of the party’s primary election.

The court held that Olawumi’s appeal was incompetent, noting that her brief of argument violated the court’s procedural rules by exceeding the prescribed page limit. As a result, the appeal was deemed unsupported by valid arguments and subsequently struck out.

The appellate court also upheld the cross-appeal filed by Oyebanji, ruling that the lower court erred in classifying Olawumi as an aspirant within the meaning of the Constitution and the Electoral Act 2022.

With the judgment, Oyebanji’s nomination as the APC candidate has been firmly validated, effectively ending the legal challenge against his emergence from the party’s primary election.

The ruling clears the way for the governor to contest the Ekiti State governorship election scheduled for Saturday.