By Adebisi Onanuga
A councillorship aspirant in Ward 5, Iperu Remo, Osularu Muyiwa has threatened to sue the Ogun State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Chief Yemi Sanusi if he fails to include his name as one of the candidates in the local government elections slated for Saturday, July 24.
Osularu, through his lawyer, Daud Fazaz, issued a three-day ultimatum to the chairman to reverse the name of the candidate allegedly imposed on the ward failing which he would head for the court. The ultimatum expires today.
Daud told journalists that Osularu was the acclaimed winner of APC councilorship primaries for Ward 5, but that his name was substituted with that of Efuwape Olaitan Muhammed, a former councilor of the Ward and incumbent Vice Chairman, Caretaker Committee of Ikenne Local Government.
His protest was also contained in a letter dated July I, 2021 sent to the Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun, his Deputy, Engr Mrs Noimot Salako-Oyedele, the Secretary to the state government, Mr Tokunbo Talabi, the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Olakunle Oluomo, OGSIEC, APC secretariat, Ikenne Local Government as well as the Special Adviser to the Governor on Political Matters, Rt. Hon Tunji Egbetokun among others.
Daud said the three-page letter served as a reminder and follow up to his earlier letter dated June 28, 2021 in which he appealed to Governor Abiodun to wade into “the illegal substitution of his client and winner of APC councilorship primaries for Ward 5, Iperu Remo, Mr Osularu Olabanjo Muyiwa with one Hon Efuwape Olaitan Muhammed, a former councilor of the Ward and incumbent Vice Chairman, Caretaker Committee of Ikenne Local Government Area.”
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The lawyer stated that his client considered it as “a grave injustice, rape on democracy and sheer illegality for the name of Efuwape Olaitan Muhammed who never participated in the Ward 5 Iperu councilorship primaries but rather served as the returning officer under whose observation the said primaries were conducted to now have his name on the list of Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission (OGSIEC) as the councilorship candidate for the ward in the coming local government elections.”
He explained that in the said councilorship primaries held on May 20, 2021, and that his client, Mr Osularu Olabanjo Muyiwa had defeated others two aspirants with 15 votes while Efuwape had stepped down and was therefore honoured with the privilege of seeing to the conduct of the primaries.
Daud stated further that, after the primaries, the leaders in the Ward together with Efuwape signed the necessary documents announcing the choice of Osularu as the councilorship candidate for Ward 5, Iperu but Efuwape, who was also told to go and submit the list to the Chairman of APC in the local government had used this window of opportunity to substitute his name for that of Osularu.
He added that despite series of appeal by his client, Osularu, other leaders and APC members in the Ward that the state leadership of the party should correct this injustice, nothing was done up to date.
The lawyer equally stated further that four days after his first letter to the governor, appealing for his intervention over this daylight robbery and great set back to entrenching internal democracy in the country, the silence from the governor has been very deafening.
Daud said if in the next few hours, the name of his client did not appear on the OGSIEC list as the APC councilorship candidate for Ward 5, Iperu Remo, Ikenne Local Government, he would be forced to approach the court as provided for in section 87 (9) Electoral Acts 2010 as amended to challenge the electoral fraud.
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