The Court of Appeal, Abuja on Wednesday removed Jimoh Ibrahim as candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 26 November election in Ondo State.
Eyitayo Jegede, candidate of the Makarfi faction of the party was relisted to face other governorship hopeful, Rotimi Akeredolu of the All Progressives Congress and Olusola Oke of the Alliance for Democracy.
Justice Ibrahim Saulaawa, who led two other Justices in a unanimous decision held that the Federal High Court erred in its 14 October ruling.
Justice Okon Abang had in that ruling substituted Jegede’s name with Jimoh Ibrahim as the governorship candidate of the party.
Saulaawa said the law forbade the trial court or any other court from denying interested parties fair hearing.
He also held that the court equally erred when it ordered INEC to remove the name of the appellant from its nomination register.
The Judge said, Ibrahim who benefited from that `strange order’ was never a party in the suit.
“Justice Okon Abang should know that the Constitution and the Electoral Act empower only the national leadership of political parties to nominate political candidates.
“The trial judge on his own, without allowing parties to present their arguments went ahead to deliver that ruling.
“There is no gainsaying that the extant appeal is meritorious and therefore allowed,” he said
The judge said: “consequently, the Oct. 14 judgment ruling of the trial court is hereby set aside and the appellant”.
“With this development, all actions taken by the Sheriff-faction, including the selection of Jimoh Ibrahim as candidate of the party remain illegal and with no effect,” he said.