Chief Idu Christopher Onyiloyi, the Deputy Governorship Candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Benue State has been sacked by a Federal High Court in Abuja.
He was sacked on Wednesday by Justice Inyang Ekwo. The judge sacked Onyiloyi and restored Ochechi Godwin Adejor as the new Deputy Governorship Candidate of the party for the March 11, 2023 governorship election.
In his judgement, Justice Ekwo held that Onyiloyi having voluntarily withdrawn as Deputy Governorship Candidate and deposed to an affidavit to that effect, ceased in law to hold the same status.
The judge said he found that Onyiloyi personally wrote the Labour Party on the withdrawal of his candidacy and gave the withdrawal legal backing with a Court affidavit as evidence of withdrawal.
The Judge invoked sections 221, and 222 of the 1999 Constitution and sections 29, 31, 32, 33, and 84 of the Electoral Act 2022.
The judge declared that the Labour Party is under obligation to remove Onyiloyi and replace him with Adejor upon voluntary withdrawal.
Consequently,He ordered the LP to immediately forward the name of Dr. Ochechi Godwin Adejor, the plaintiff, to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for publication as the lawful Deputy Governorship Candidate.
The Court also issued an order compelling INEC to publish the name of the plaintiff as an authentic candidate.
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The judge also granted an order of perpetual injunction restraining INEC from accepting any name other than that of the plaintiff as the Deputy Governorship Candidate.
In addition, the judge issued another order stopping Onyiloyi from further parading himself as the Labour Party’s Deputy Governorship Candidate in Benue.
While Ochechi is the plaintiff in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1853/2022, LP, INEC, and Onyiloyi are 1st to 3rd defendants respectively.
