The Ogun State High Court, sitting in Abeokuta, the state capital, has struck out prayers made by 16 political parties in the state, seeking to postpone the proposed local government elections indefinitely.
Delivering judgment in suit number AB/577/2024, between Action Alliance and 15 Others versus OGSIEC and another, the presiding judge, Hon Justice T A Okunsokan, rejected the claims of the political parties that the Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission, OGSIEC, had acted unilaterally and dictatorially by fixing the date of the local government elections without first consulting the political parties.
Justice Okunsokan unequivocally held that there was no provision in the constitution or the relevant electoral laws that requires OGSIEC to consult political parties before fixing dates of elections.
The court also found that the claim of the parties that Ondo State gubernatorial elections would hold on the same day as the Ogun local government election is not a legitimate reason for asking the court to compel OGSIEC to postpone elections in the state.
The court therefore ordered that the status quo ante be maintained on the earlier announced date for the Ogun State local government elections slated for November 16, 2024.
