Court stops Oyo council poll

A Federal High Court, sitting in Ibadan, Wednesday ordered the Oyo state Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) to suspend the planned Local Government election into the newly created Local Community Development Authority (LCDA) pending the determination of the substantive suit before the court. Some aggrieved members of the All Progressive Congress (APC) from Ibarapa East Local Government had approached the Federal High Court over the creation of new wards, seeking an interim order to suspend the conduct of council poll slated for May 12, 2018 in the state. Justice Joyce Abdul-Malik of Federal High Court 2 in her brief ruling on the motion, granted the prayers of the aggrieved parties, retraining OYSIEC from conducting election into the newly created wards pending the determination of the substantive suit. The interim relief in favour of the aggrieved APC members was made in respect of the new wards’ delineation by the state government, restraining OYSIEC from conducting election into the new wards. Plans by the State Independent Electoral Commission to conduct election into local government and LCDA’s by May 12 is already at the peak. A similar scenario played out when some baales in Oyo West, Atiba and Oyo East local governments sought an order restraining the commission from conducting the planned election in 2017 pending the determination of the case which eventually led to shifting the date of the election from February 21 to May 2018. The state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Olusegun Abimbola said the government would take immediate step to vacate the order which he claimed was yet to be served on the government. He said ” the point is that the existing laws in the state forbid any interim order from any court in respect of any proceeding to affect the timing of scheduled election by that provision of Section 9 of the Oyo state Independent Electoral Commission law Cap 154 Laws of Oyo state 2000″]]>