Ekiti APC governorship aspirant appeals exclusion from primary
A governorship aspirant under the All Progressives Congress in Ekiti State, Abimbola Olajumoke Olawunmi, has approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja to challenge her disqualification from the party’s nomination
A governorship aspirant under the All Progressives Congress in Ekiti State, Abimbola Olajumoke Olawunmi, has approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja to challenge her disqualification from the party’s nomination process.
The Federal High Court, in a judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu, dismissed Olawunmi’s suit on the grounds that it was statute‑barred.
The court held that the case, being a pre‑election matter, ought to have been filed within 14 days of the alleged disqualification, but the plaintiff filed the suit after more than 27 days.
In a Notice of Appeal filed against the APC, the Independent National Electoral Commission, and the Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, Olawunmi is seeking to overturn the Federal High Court judgment delivered on April 15, 2026, which dismissed her suit.
The plaintiff argued that the trial court erred in law when it held that the appellant’s suit was statute‑barred under Section 285(9).
Through her counsel, Ayotunde Ogunleye (SAN), the appellant further argued that the trial court erred in law by dismissing the case after declining jurisdiction, instead of striking it out, a decision she said occasioned a miscarriage of justice.
She urged the appellate court to invoke its powers under Section 15 of the Court of Appeal Act, 2021, to assume jurisdiction and determine the substantive issues, describing the matter as a pre‑election dispute requiring urgent resolution.
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Olawunmi’s appeal stems from her disqualification by the APC at its 179th National Working Committee meeting held on October 9, 2025.
The party cited her financial standing and the alleged omission of her name from its revalidated membership register as reasons for her exclusion from the governorship primary conducted on October 27, 2025.
However, the appellant maintained that her disqualification contravened Section 84(3) of the Electoral Act, 2022, and Section 177 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which stipulate the qualifications for contesting the office of a state governor.
She is praying the Court of Appeal to declare her exclusion unlawful, null and void, and to invalidate all actions taken pursuant to the decision, including the outcome of the primary that produced the party’s candidate.
Among the reliefs sought are orders setting aside the APC’s decision to disqualify her, nullifying the October 27, 2025, governorship primary, restraining the party from excluding her from future nomination processes, and directing it to conduct a fresh primary.
She also asked the court to compel INEC to disqualify candidates who emerged from the disputed primary pending the conduct of a new exercise.
