The Osun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) appears to be at the crossroads over what would be its fate and that of its standard bearer, Senator Ademola Adeleke, should the court grant the prayers of his challengers today.
Adeleke, who currently represents Osun West senatorial district, was accused of parading a forged O’level result, shortly after emerging the candidate of the party.
First to challenge Adeleke were two members of the party, Rasheed Olabayo and Oluwaseun Idowu.
In the suit filed on July 24, they sought an interlocutory order to set aside the election of Adeleke as the candidate of the party and to stop him from parading himself as one, insisting that he did not satisfy the constitutional requirements to contest the governorship primary.
But after a truce was reached, the case was withdrawn from the court. Following the withdrawal of the suit, the Presiding Judge, Justice David Oladimeji of Osun State High Court, dismissed the suit.
Counsel to the plaintiffs, Abdulramon Okunade, told the court that his clients had reached an agreement to withdraw the suit and asked for an adjournment. However, the defence counsel, Mr. Nathaniel Oke, opposed the motion seeking adjournment, saying instead that the case be dismissed since the applicants had resolved to withdraw the matter.
Barely a week after the case was struck out, two other concerned citizens of the state, Wahab Adekunle Raheem and Adam Omosalewa Habeeb, approached a Federal High Court in Abuja, to again seek Adeleke’s disqualification.
And by last week, the Presiding Judge, Justice O. A Musa, ordered Adeleke to appear before it today, to explain why he should not be disqualified from contesting this Saturday’s governorship.
The court also ordered the West African Examination Council (WAEC) to produce the ledger and serve all parties connected with the suit, a copy of the ledger containing the results of all candidates who sat for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination along Adeleke in the May/ June, 1981 in Ede, Osun State within five working days, commencing from last Friday.