Mr. Kehinde Aworele, the National Legal Adviser of Alliance for Democracy (AD), says he will go to court to challenge the eligibility of Chief Olusola Oke as the party candidate in the forthcoming governorship election in Ondo.
Aworele told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Tuesday that Oke did not meet the party’s requirements to contest on its platform.
“Although, there is a pending suit before a Federal High Court in Akure which I do not want to pre-empt, but as the national legal adviser of AD, I will challenge Oke’s eligibility to contest on the platform of our party in court anytime from now.
“Obviously, for anybody to contest on the platform of AD, the person must have spent a minimum of 10 weeks as financial member, the requirement Oke did not meet.
“Besides, the process of presenting such candidate must be tabled at the quorum of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the party and not just by three leaders as they did in his case.
“Chief Olusola Oke is a senior lawyer; he should go and read the party’s constitution and should not be deceived by few leaders.
“Personally, I have nothing against him, but he cannot join the party through the back door,” he said.
Aworele alleged that the party had been factionalized since Oke joined it on Oct 3.
Oke had in 2012 contested the governorship election in the state on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party but lost.
He defected to All Progressives Congress (APC) where he vied for governorship ticket on Sept. 3, but was unsuccessful and defected to AD on Oct. 1, claiming to have picked its gubernatorial mandate for the election.
The AD National Organising Secretary, Mr. Ibrahim Abdollah, had in a communiqué after the party’s NEC meeting on Oct. 14 in Akure, said the party was unaware of Oke’s candidature.
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