BY Gbenga Ariyibi

ADO EKITI—Ekiti State  governor-elect, Dr Ayo Fayose yesterday asked an Ado Ekiti High Court to transfer a case before it on his eligibility in contesting the June 21 governorship election to Federal High Court

A socio-political group, E-eleven and Citizen Party had dragged Fayose to court that he was not eligible to contest the election, having allegedly filled a wrong information with the form submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

When the matter came up for hearing yesterday, lead counsel to Fayose who is also a defendant in the suit  Mr. Raji Ahmed, (SAN) prayed the court to  transfer the suit to the Federal High court since the case involved both INEC and National secretariat of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP.

Raji said that the case in which the plaintiffs sought to stop his client from contesting the election was already belated.
According to him, the case had no value again as the election under consideration had been contested and won by his client.
The counsel further added that the case filed at the court was addressed to the national headquarters of the party in Abuja and INEC office both in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory and should therefore be declared null and void.

But the lead counsel to the citizen’s party, Norrison Quakers, (SAN) opposed the position of defendant’s counsel, saying the case still had substance, regardless of whether the election at hand had been conducted or not.
Also, counsel to the’ E_Eleven’, Mr. Raufu Balogun insisted that the court had jurisdiction to try the case, and prayed the court not to strike out the case

Fayose’s counsel therefore urged the court to dismiss the plaintiff’s counsel’s submission for lacking in merit, citing Section 31 of the Electoral Act.
The trial judge, Justice Olusegun Ogunyemi later adjourned the case till July 18 for ruling.

The judge  asked all the parties to the suit to submit their written addresses on or before the said date