2023: Appeal Court fixes Aug. 8 to rule on Delta PDP governorship suit
Appeal Court, Monday, adjourned hearing till August 8 for further proceedings in the suit filed by sacked Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the 2023 General Elections, Sheriff Oborevwori against his disqualification to contest the poll.
Oborevwori has approached the appellant court seeking a Stay of Execution of the order of the Federal High Court in Abuja which declared Olorogun David Edevbie as the lawfully nominated and authentic candidate of the PDP, as well as, an order on the party to forward Edevbie’s name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in addition to commanding the commission to accord him the full rights and privileges due to him as the rightful candidate of the party.
However, during the sitting of the court on Monday, August 1, Oborevwori’s lawyers withdrew two of their prayers and the court accordingly struck out prayers 2 and 3 in the appeal case against Olorogun David Edevbie.
The prayers withdrawn include; “An Order for abridging the time to file the Appellant’s Brief of Argument to 3 days and an Order abridging the time to file the Respondent’s Brief of Argument to 7 days from the grant of the order of the Court.”
The court also granted leave to the Applicant (Oborevwori) to effect service of the Notice of Appeal filed on 22 July 2022, Record of Appeal and Motion for Stay of Execution and all other subsequent processes on the 1st Respondent (David Edevbie) by substituted means.
This means by pasting and/or leaving the notices at a conspicuous place at the address of the 1st Respondent.
Following irregularities spotted in the academic qualifications presented to INEC by Oborevwori, his primary elections challenger, Edevbie had approached the High Court seeking disqualification of the former, and his declaration as winner of the PDP governorship primary poll in Delta State.
Presiding judge of the Federal High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) sitting in Abuja, Justice Taiwo O. Taiwo declared Oborevwori unqualified and ineligible as he could not defend the varied names on virtually all his documents.
Also, Justice Taiwo was unimpressed with his attempts to merely use affidavits and a Deed Poll to cure the various defects about his identity, age and his academic certificates.
