Twist in Delta PDP As INEC Receives New Name As Party’s Guber Candidate
There is anxiety within the leadership of Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), over the replacement of the Speaker of Delta State House of Assembly, (DSHA), Sherrif Oborevwori, as candidate of the governorship election in the state.
Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), was said to have been served with the order of the court that disqualified the speaker.
The order, which was received at the INEC headquarters on Thursday, was signed by registrar of the court, Blessing Chibuzor-Ugwu and endorsed by Justice Taiwo Taiwo.
The order directed the PDP and INEC to replace Mr Oborevwori’s name with that of the plaintiff, David Edevbie, who scored the second highest votes in the party’s governorship primary.
“The 1st Defendant (Mr Oborevwori) should and ought to be prohibited, prevented or otherwise restrained from holding out, parading and or advertising himself as the candidate of the 2nd Defendant (PDP) for the forthcoming gubernatorial elections in Delta state scheduled to hold on 11 March, 2023 by the 3rd Defendant (INEC)”, it read.
It will be recalled that the high court had in a judgement it delivered on July 7, held that Oborevwori lacked the legal competence to participate in the governorship election.
Oborevwori was accused of supplying false information and submitting forged certificates in order to take part and emerge as the winner of the PDP governorship primary in the state.
He was alleged to have used the names Oborevwori Sheriff and Francis Orohwedor interchangeably in the certificates he submitted to INEC in aid of his qualification
Edevbie had in his suit, maintained that the defendant, Oborevwori, was not validly nominated by his party.
He told the court that PDP violated both its constitution and the electoral guidelines, during its state congress that produced Oborevwori as its flagbearer for the forthcoming gubernatorial election.
Consequently, he prayed the court to restrain the party from forwarding Oborevwori’s name to the INEC and to also restrain the electoral body from receiving or recognising him as the duly nominated candidate of the party for the election.
More so, the plaintiff, sought an order to restrain Oborevwori from parading or carrying himself as the governorship candidate of the PDP in the state. Also cited as defendants in the matter were the PDP and INEC.
In his judgement, Justice Taiwo held that the suit was meritorious and accordingly granted the reliefs against Oborevwori.
The court held that evidence before it confirmed that the defendant supplied false and forged documents to the INEC in aid of his qualification for the governorship election.
It directed INEC to recognize the plaintiff as candidate of the PDP for the governorship election.
