A Division of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday struck out a suit brought against the Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, by a former senator, Iyabo Anisulowo.
In the pre-election suit No FHC/ABJ/CS/34/1019, the petitioner is challenging the eligibility of Abiodun to contest for governorship over his failure to participate in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme.
The presiding Judge, Justice M Mohammed who made the pronouncement while ruling on the matter held; “A candidate cannot be disqualified from an election for failure to participate in the National Youth Service Corps scheme,”
He held further that the NYSC Act does not stipulate that a candidate who failed to participate in the NYSC scheme be disqualified from elections.
The implication of the judgment is that candidates seeking election to contest governorship elections in Nigeria no longer need to present NYSC certificates.
At the resumed hearing, Governor Abiodun’s counsel, Wale Ajayi had prayed the court to dismiss the case against his client, saying participation in the NYSC scheme is not a requirement for participation in elections.
Consequently, Justice M A Mohammed, in his judgment, dismissed Abiodun’s notice of preliminary objection and proceeded to deliver judgment on the substantive suit.
The judge ruled that the plaintiff failed to establish that Abiodun presented false academic claims to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Citing Section 177 of the Constitution, the Judge noted that a candidate can only be disqualified based on that section. Mohammed subsequently dismissed the suit.
According to the Section: “A person shall be qualified for election to the office of Governor of a State if: (a) he is a citizen of Nigeria by birth; (b) he has attained the age of thirty-five years; (c) he is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that political party, and (d) he has been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent.”
The court ruled further that since Abiodun has not breached any of these provisions, the suit lacked merit.
Recall that the Supreme Court had recently dismissed a similar case brought before it by Abdulrafiu Baruwa challenging the qualification of Abiodun on the ground that he failed to disclose all his academic qualifications.
