As the race for the forth coming Governorship elections in Edo state heats up the incumbent governor Godwin Obaseki and his deputy Mr. Philip Shaibu are facing fresh Judicial hurdles.
Obaseki and Shaibu were members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) until last month when they switched camps to the PDP on account of being denied the party’s ticket.
The plaintiffs in the suit against Obaseki and Shaibu are the APC and one of its members, Mr. Edobor Williams.
Shaibu, in the suit with reference number FHC/B/CS/75/2020, is alleged to have presented a forged West African School Certificate and tax clearance certificates to INEC, contrary to Section 31 of the Electoral Act and Section 182 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
In the suit against Obaseki, with reference number FHC/B/CS/74/2020, the plaintiffs want a declaration that the governor, in INEC’s form EC9 at Column C, thereof sworn to on June 29, 2020 at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court Registry, Abuja to the effect that he obtained from the University of Ibadan (UI) in 1979 a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Classical Studies, was false and contrary to Section 31 (5) and (6) of the Electoral Act, 2010, as amended.
In the alternative, the plaintiffs want a declaration that Obaseki’s INEC Form CF001 at Column “C” thereof sworn to on July 11, 2016 at the High Court Registry, Benin City, to the effect that he obtained from UI in 1976, a BA degree in Classical Studies was false and contrary to Section 31 (5) and (6) of the Electoral Act, 2010, as amended.
Also being sought by them are: a declaration that Obaseki’s statement contained in INEC’s form EC9 at Column “D” thereof sworn to on June 29, 2020 at FCT High Court Registry, Abuja, to the effect that he worked in Afriinvest Limited from 1994 to 2014, when he retired, was false and contrary to Section 31 (5) and (6) of the Electoral Act, 2010, as amended;
A declaration that Obaseki’s presentation of a BA degree in Classical Studies from UI, with a sole signatory of the Vice-Chancellor and no effective date of award, as against the standard operating procedure of the Examinations, Records and Administrative Data Processing Division of UI, amounts to the presentation of a forged/false certificate to INEC, contrary to the provisions of Section 182 (1) (j) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN), 1999, as altered;
A declaration that Obaseki’s presentation of Advanced Level WAEC certificate, dated June 1976, which showed that Obaseki sat for examination in subjects materially different from those shown in the testimonial of the Institute of Continuing Education of September 25, 1975, where Obaseki was a student and from where he purportedly wrote the said examination, amounts to the presentation of a forged/false certificate to INEC, contrary to the provisions of Section 182 (1) (j) of the Constitution of FRN, 1999, as altered.
The plaintiffs are also praying the court for an order disqualifying Obaseki from contesting the Edo state governorship election on September 19 or on any other date that might be approved for the purpose, on the grounds that Obaseki supplied false information on oath to INEC, contrary to Section 31 (5) and (6) of the Electoral Act, 2010, as amended.
The plaintiffs want INEC to be ordered to remove Obaseki’s name from the list of nominated or sponsored candidates for the crucial election, while PDP should be restrained from participating in the election, among others.
The plaintiffs are being represented by Chief Wole Olanipekun, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) amongst others.
