Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun says there was no place, he admitted to committing any crime in the letter written by Afe Babalola & Co. in response to a petition filed by one Ayodele Oludiran on behalf of Oluwatobi Sofela.
The governor speaking through his commissioner for information, Waheed Odusile in a press release said the story published by some media organisations was fallacious, warning that 'appropriate legal steps will be taken against the purveyors of the blatant falsehood'.
The statement reads "our attention has been drawn to a story with a misleading caption in some online newspapers.
"To say this story is fallacious is to say the least. It is an admission to the fact that the journalism profession, which we still hold as noble has been thrown to the dogs.
"Journalists are expected to fact check their information before going to the press.
"This particular story was purportedly from a letter written by Afe Babalola & Co, to the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a response to a petition written by a political mercenary.
"Nowhere in the letter written by the Afe Babalola & Co. was there any admission by Prince Dapo Abiodun to have admitted to committing any crime.
"The letter written by the governor’s lawyers was twisted and presented to suit a particular purpose best known to those that authored / sponsored it.
"It should, however, be noted that their obvious game plan is to discredit the governor and get through the backdoor, what they could not get through the ballot.
"Prince Dapo Abiodun is unperturbed by this machination. Just like they failed in 2019, they will also fail this time around.
"For the avoidance of doubt, let it be noted that Prince Dapo Abiodun did not admit ever being convicted of any crime.
"While we enjoined journalists to comply strictly to the ethics of their profession, we shall however not hesitate to take appropriate legal step against the purveyors of this blatant falsehood, the statement warned.
The petitioner, Ayodele Oludiran had alleged that Abiodun was convicted over a credit card fraud in the US, with jail number 8600B9436, and later filed an application for a redaction of his criminal records in Miami Dade, Florida and it was granted in 2015.
He cautioned that the discrepancies in the governor’s educational qualifications and the alleged criminal status might cause opposition parties to question the eligibility of Mr Abiodun’s re-election bid, swaying the electorates 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,” wrote Mr Oludiran in a statement.
Meanwhile, Afe Babalola and Co, representing Abiodun’s legal team argued that the governor’s probable arrest was not a conviction and hence was not answerable to the laws that applied to criminals.
“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,” the governor’s lawyer wrote Abdulahi Adamu, APC chairman, citing section 29(6) of the Electoral Act 2022
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.
