NRM Heads to Court as INEC excludes candidate’s Name

...Gives 24 hours ultimatum   

By Innocent Imoh

About five days to the Osun State governorship election, the National Rescue Movement (NRM) on Monday gave the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), 24 hours within which it should include the name of its candidate, Jumoke Lawoyin, whose name has been omitted from the list approved by the commission.



Should INEC fail to effect the anomaly within the stipulated time, the party threatened that it would seek redress in Court to ventilate its grievances.



The position of NRM was contained in in a protest letter to the chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, with ref. No. KACCL/LET/RO/381/18, and signed by its lawyer, Kayode Ajulo, obtained by journalists in Jos.



The letter entitled: “Unlawful exclusion of Mrs. Jumoke Lawoyin, Governorship candidate of NRM from the approved list of Governorship candidates in the Osun State gubernatorial election”, said, “it is trite law that every duly registered political party and candidate enjoys the constitutional right to vote and be voted for.”



The petition reads fully below...



INTRODUCTION



We are Solicitors to National Rescue Movement (NRM) hereinafter referred to as ‘our Client’.



Our Client is a recognized and duly registered political party under the relevant laws in Nigeria with a mandate to attain political power through democratic and constitutional means for the purpose of creating socio-economic well-being of the citizens.



FACTUAL MATRIX



Our Client briefed us that by a notice dated 12th July, 2018, your office was informed of the conduct of our Client’s primaries, sequel to which your representatives led by Mr. Asaolu Adeniyi Ishola were sent to observe and monitor the said primary election which held at Brymor Hotel, Agunbelewo, Oshogbo and in which Mrs Jumoke Lawoyin was confirmed and affirmed as our Client’s candidate for the Osun State gubernatorial election scheduled to hold on the 22nd of September 2018.



However, it is our brief that despite the service of the requisite notice of the primaries on your commission as required by law and your subsequent participation wherein your staff observed the emergence of our Client’s candidate for the impending Osun State gubernatorial election, your Commission has negligently, unlawfully, illegally omitted, left out and excluded the name of our Client’s candidate from the INEC approved list.



Our Client further informed us that they have exhausted all available mechanisms of communication with your Commission in other to rectify the anomaly which as explained to them was due to some administrative oversight which unfortunately has been left unattended, hence, the briefing our Firm to formally take up their complaint with your Commission.



OUR CLIENT’S DEMANDS



TAKE NOTICE that your Commission’s act of omitting, refusing and or neglecting to add our Client’s candidate’s name to your approved candidates list for the 2018 Osun State gubernatorial election is unlawful, illegal, unconstitutional and ought to be urgently rectified.



FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that considering the peculiarity of this case and the urgency attached thereof, our Client requires that you should within 24-Hours of receipt of this letter, cause an amendment to be effected to the approved Osun State gubernatorial candidates list to include our Client’s candidate, otherwise, we may be constrained to perfect the brief of our client by employing all available legal mechanism at our disposal to ensure that our client is not dispossessed of their right to participate in the Osun State gubernatorial Election by this colossal omission.



It is trite law that every duly registered political party and candidate enjoys the Constitutional right to vote and be voted for, we therefore implore you to within the specified period, accede to our Client’s demands.



As we await your prompt response to this letter, please accept the assurances of our highest professional regards.



Yours faithfully,

For: Kayode Ajulo & Co. Castle of Law.