Ondo Governorship Election: PDP Seeks Release of CTC of A’ Court Judgment

Ondo Governorship Election: PDP Seeks Release of CTC of A’ Court Judgment

James Sowole in Akure

The Ondo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday complained about the non-release of the Certified True Copies (CTC) of last week judgment of the Court of Appeal to its governorship candidate, Mr. Eyitayo Jegede (SAN).

The Court of Appeal in Akure had last week allowed in part Jegede’s grounds of appeal, against the verdict of the Elections Petitions Tribunal, which upheld the victory of the state Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN).

Sequel to the verdict of the appellate court, the PDP governorship standard bearer immediately announced his decision to challenge the verdict at the Supreme Court.

But the state chapter of the PDP raised the alarm over an alleged ploy to deny its candidate justice in the apex court, as six days after the judgment, the CTCs of the suit have not been released to Jegede.

The Supreme Court has only 60 days within which to conclude hearing of the appeal.

In a statement to register the complaint, the state PDP Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kennedy Peretei, said: “The Ondo State chapter of the PDP is surprised that our application to the Office of the Registrars of Court of Appeal to get Certified True Copies of the judgement has been met with some kind of bulk passing between officials of the court in Ado-Ekiti and Akure.

“In view of the fact that the Supreme Court has only 60 days from the date of the judgment of the Court of Appeal to dispose of this matter, any attempt to play games or to apply delay tactics will amount to nothing but sabotage and a calculated attempt to subvert the course of justice.”

He, therefore, called on the registrars of the court discharge his duties timeously as required by law, so as to ensure that the course of justice is not perverted.

Meanwhile, the Eyitayo Jegede Campaign Organisation (EJCO) has issued a similar statement to complain about the delay in issuing its candidate the same certified true copies.

A statement issued by its spokesman, Mr. Gbenga Akinmoyo, urged the judiciary to ensure that “this anomaly is immediately corrected, so as not to send a wrong signal to the public about the independence of our judiciary.”

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