Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi yesterday won three cases instituted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the Court of Appeal, sitting in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.

In the case in which PDP opposed the constitution of the State Independent Electoral Commission (EKSIEC), Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam ordered that the case be retried.

The High Court, presided over by Justice John Adeyeye dissolved the EKSIEC, saying there was evidence that its members were card-carrying members of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), as alleged by PDP.

Justice Onyemenam faulted the judgment of the lower court, insisting that the plaintiff should have tendered Certified True Copies (CTC) of the credentials of the EKSIEC members, instead of photocopies.
She said the plaintiff failed to explore all possible means to access the CTC of the credentials.

Justice Onyemenam said the letter PDP claimed to have written to the House of Assembly requesting the release of the CTC, which it said was declined, did not justify tendering secondary evidence before the court.
She said the plaintiff could have subpoenaed the Clerk of the House to present the CTC of the documents and directed that the case be tried afresh at the State High Court.

In the second and third cases concerning the prayers of the former EKSIEC Chairman, Maj.-Gen Kayode Oni and others; and that of the former Chairman of the House of Assembly Service Commission, Mr. Bunmi Ogunleye, seeking payment for the period they should have spent in office, the court upturned the verdict of the High Court.

The courts said members of the two commissions are not entitled to any financial benefit from the present administration because their appointment lacked “statutory backing”.
Justices Olukayode Bada and Modupe Fasanmi said the appointment of members of the commissions was based on the ex-governor’s preference, with no statutory force.

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