Court stops Ekiti LG polls over EKSIEC composition

By GBENGA ARIYIBI
ADO EKITI—An Ado Ekiti High Court presided over by Justice John Adeyeye, yesterday, restrained members of Ekiti State Independent Electoral Commission, EKSIEC, from conducting Saturday’s council poll on alleged ground of partisanship.

The State chapter of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,  through its chairman, Chief Bola Olu-Ojo, had dragged members of the electoral commission to the court on September 28, 2011, claiming that five out of the seven members were registered members of political parties

Members of the Commission whose eligibility were challenged by the PDP are: Mrs Cecilia Adelusi, (the chairman) Alhaji Abduraheem Coker, (who had since resigned his position), Mr. Soji Oloketuyi, Mr. Remi Olowoloba and Mr. Christopher Oloje.

The State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Dayo Akinlaja, who stood-in  for the State Government (7th respondent), had argued  that members of the EKSIEC were qualified to conduct the election since their appointments were in conformity with 2001 electoral law passed by Ekiti State House of Assembly.

Akinlaja submitted that all the curriculum vitae submitted by the claimants, were photocopied and not Certified True Copies, CTC, of the documents submitted to the State House of Assembly during their screening.

He submitted that the court should not admit the document, arguing that only the CTC copies of primary evidence were admissible in law

But in his 45 minutes judgment, Justice Adeyeye noted that all the evidences supplied by the PDP through its chairman, Mr.  Olu-Ojo ,  in its  10-paragraph affidavit deposed to in its originating summons of September 28, 2011,  where it attached the Curriculum Vitae of the 2nd to 6th respondents in the case  were reliable and had probative value  in accordance with the  provision of Section 90 (1) of  the Evidence Act.

Meantime, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,  in Ekiti State has hailed the dissolution of the State Independent Electoral Commission, SIEC, by an Ado-Ekiti High Court, describing the judgment as a vindication of the party’s stand that the commission was peopled by card-carrying members and supporters of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN.