INEC replaces candidate ahead of Ondo governorship election

Less than 24 hours before the Ondo governorship election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the replacement of Olusola Ebiseni with Olorunfemi Festus as the Labour Party’s (LP) candidate.

The decision, shared by INEC on its official X (formerly Twitter) platform on Friday, followed a judgment by the Court of Appeal ordering the restoration of Festus as the rightful candidate for the election scheduled for Saturday, November 16.

https://x.com/inecnigeria/status/1857438039489810503?t=D4DlxpLIWWf2eo8BN4CsYA&s=19

INEC revealed that it received the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the appellate court’s judgment on Thursday, November 14. The Court of Appeal’s decision overturned an earlier ruling by the Federal High Court (FHC), Abuja Division, which had declared Ebiseni as the LP candidate.

The FHC, in its judgment delivered on September 27, had directed INEC to recognize Ebiseni as the Labour Party’s flagbearer. However, the Court of Appeal, in case number CA/ABJ/CV/1172/2024, dismissed the FHC’s decision on the grounds of jurisdictional overreach.

In compliance with the appellate court’s ruling, INEC has reinstated Festus as the Labour Party’s candidate and updated its records to reflect the change.

“Following the Court of Appeal’s judgment, we have restored Festus, whose name was initially published as the LP candidate for the 2024 Ondo Governorship election. This information has also been uploaded to our website for public notice,” the commission stated.

This development adds a dramatic twist to the already tense political atmosphere as Ondo State heads to the polls.