The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has retained the name of Hon. Timehin Adelegbe as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Owo/Ose Federal Constituency following the filing of a notice of appeal and a stay of execution against the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which declared another aspirant, Abdulghani Rotimi Arobo, as the party’s candidate.
The APC, through its solicitors, Sozo Attorneys, promptly notified the INEC that it had challenged the judgment before the Court of Appeal. The Ondo State Electoral Commissioner was also notified.
In a letter dated August 6, 2026, addressed to the Chairman of INEC and signed by A.G. Yirvoms Ayuba, the party informed the commission that it had filed a Notice of Appeal expressing dissatisfaction with the judgment and had also filed a Motion for Stay of Execution pending the determination of the appeal.
The letter partly reads: “We wish to formally notify the Commission that the 1st Defendant has today, the 6th day of August, 2026, filed a Notice of Appeal at the Registry of the Federal High Court, Abuja, expressing its dissatisfaction with the judgment delivered by Hon. Justice Peter O. Lifu on the 5th of August, 2026.
“Furthermore, please be informed that we have also filed a Motion for Stay of Execution of the said judgment pending the hearing and determination of the appeal.
“In light of these processes, and in accordance with the established principle of law that parties should not take steps to foist a state of helplessness on the Court of Appeal or destroy the subject matter of the litigation, we most respectfully urge the Commission to stay all actions regarding the enforcement of the orders contained in the judgment.
“The Commission is humbly requested to maintain the status quo until the judicial processes now pending before the Court are resolved.”
The party also attached copies of the Notice of Appeal and the Motion for Stay of Execution for INEC’s records and guidance.
A very reliable source in the APC Secretariat in Abuja disclosed that the commission had, pending the determination of the appeal, continued to recognise Adelegbe as the party’s candidate for the constituency.
“The party has filed its appeal against the judgment and has equally served INEC with the stay of execution granted by the Court of Appeal. As things stand, Hon. Timehin Adelegbe remains the candidate recognised by the commission pending the final determination of the appeal,” the source said.
The source further disclosed that the APC had commenced an internal investigation into the result relied upon by the Federal High Court in declaring Arobo the winner of the primary election.
According to the source, the party was seeking to establish the origin and authenticity of the result tendered before the court, particularly the figures attributed to the aspirant.
“The party is investigating the result the plaintiff claimed showed he scored 7,959 votes in Owo Local Government Area and 2,583 votes in Ose Local Government Area. There are questions over how the result sheet was obtained and the circumstances surrounding its emergence,” the source said.
The source added that the APC was also reviewing the processes through which the document was presented before the court and whether it emanated from the party’s official records.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had declared Arobo as the APC candidate for the Owo/Ose Federal Constituency after holding that he won the party’s primary election.
However, the APC has challenged the judgment at the Court of Appeal, insisting that substantial legal and factual issues arising from the decision should be determined by the appellate court.
Party sources expressed confidence that the Court of Appeal would resolve the issues raised in the appeal and determine the authenticity of the primary election results in dispute.
