Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State has confirmed that he was arrested in the United States over credit card fraud and forgery in 1986.
He, however, says it is not sufficient grounds for his disqualification by the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Abiodun stated that the APC as a political party lacked the power to disqualify him, saying that only a competent court of law could do so .
In a letter written by Afe Babalola and Co, to Abdulahi Adamu, APC chairman, Abiodun’s legal team cited section 29(6) of the Electoral Act 2022: “An aspirant or candidate will only be disqualified by the court if the false information he gives relates to a constitutional requirement of eligibility. APC is not a court of law. Accordingly, it cannot disqualify our client”.
They further argued that the governor’s probable arrest was not a conviction and hence was not answerable to the laws that applied to criminals.
Even if he was convicted in 1986, the governor’s legal counsel asserted the Nigerian constitution only disqualifies ex-felons from contesting political offices if their sentence was less than 10 years before the election date.
“In any event, assuming but not conceding that our client was even convicted in 1986, he would still not be affected or caught by Section 182 (1) (e) of the CFRN because the CFRN requires that the conviction which would disqualify a person from the position of the governor must have occurred ten years before the date of election to the office,” wrote Abiodun’s lawyer.
This was in response to a petition submitted by APC member Ayodele Oludiran on behalf of Oluwatobi Sofela of Ogun Bibire Unity Forum.
Oludiran warned that the party might lose the governorship seat in Ogun due to Abiodun’s criminal history and its concealment from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) despite swearing an oath.
He also cautioned that the discrepancies in the governor’s educational qualifications might also cause opposition parties to question the eligibility of Abiodun’s re-election bid, swaying the electorate to their side.
“If action is not taken, the chances of our great party, the APC, retaining the governorship seat in Ogun State shall be in jeopardy as previously seen in Bayelsa and Zamfara States,”Sofela wrote in a statement.
It was gathered that Governor Dapo Abiodun, with jail number 8600B9436, had filed an application for a redaction of his criminal records in Miami Dade, Florida.
A redaction is a form of expungement used for instances where a person has been arrested, but not convicted of the crime they were charged with.
The request was granted Abiodun in 2015.
Last May, Abidemi Rufai, a longtime associate of Abiodun, was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the US for his role in a $650 million (N312 billion) employment fraud.
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