Lawyer to sue Ogun APC over substitution of candidate

A Lagos based lawyer, Barr. Daud Fazaz Segun has again threatened to drag Chief Yemi Sanusi, Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Ogun State to court if under three days, the name of his client and alleged winner of APC councilorship primaries for Ward 5, Iperu Remo, Mr Osularu Olabanjo Muyiwa was not made to appear on the list of councilorship candidates to partake in the local government elections slated for Saturday, July 24.

Copies of the letter dated Thursday, July 1st 2021, and sighted by our Correspondent were also dropped at the offices of the Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun, his Deputy, Engr Mrs Noimot Salako-Oyedele, the Secretary to the state government, Mr Tokunbo Talabi, the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Olakunle Oluomo, OGSIEC, APC secretariat, Ikenne local government as well as the Special Adviser to the Governor on Political Matters, Rt. Hon Tunji Egbetokun among others.

Barr Daud said the three pages letter served as a reminder and follow up to his letter of Monday June 28, where he had pleaded with Gov Dapo Abiodun to wade into the illegal substitution of his client and winner of APC councilorship primaries for Ward 5, Iperu Remo, Mr Osularu Olabanjo Muyiwa with one Hon Efuwape Olaitan Muhammed, a former councilor of the Ward and incumbent Vice Chairman, Caretaker Committee of Ikenne local government

The lawyer stated that his client considered it as grave injustice, rape on democracy and sheer illegality for the name of Efuwape Olaitan Muhammed who never participated in the Ward 5 Iperu councilorship primaries but rather served as the returning officer under whose observation the said primaries were conducted to now have his name in the list of Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission (OGSIEC) as the councilorship candidate for the Ward in the coming local government elections.

He explained that in the said councilorship primaries held on May 20, 2021, his client, Mr Osularu Olabanjo Muyiwa had defeated others two aspirants with 15 votes while Efuwape had stepped down and was therefore honoured with the privilege of seeing to the conduct of the primaries.

Barr Daud stated further that, after the primaries, the leaders in the Ward together with Efuwape signed the necessary documents announcing the choice of Osularu as the councilorship candidate for Ward 5, Iperu but Efuwape, who was also told to go and submit the list to the Chairman of APC in the local government had used this window of opportunity to substitute his name for that of Osularu.

He added that despite series of appeal by his client, Osularu, other leaders and APC members in the Ward that the state leadership of the party should correct this injustice, nothing was done up to date.

The lawyer equally stated further that four days after his first letter to the governor appealing for his intervention over this daylight robbery and great set back to entrenching internal democracy in the country, the silence from the governor has been very deafening.

Barr Daud revealed that his client has however said that if in the next 48 hours his name did not appear on the OGSIEC list as the APC councilorship candidate for Ward 5, Iperu Remo, Ikenne local government, he would be forced to approach the court as provided for in section 87 (9) Electoral Acts 2010 as amended to challenge this electoral fraud.