Credit card fraud in U.S: Ogun Gov. Abiodun in epic battle against his disqualification by APC

Ogun Gov. Dapo Abiodun is now fighting the battle of his life to secure APC ticket and retain his position in the 2023 governorship poll.

Reason: Abiodun’s arrest in the United States of America over credit card fraud and forgery in 1986 and his disputed educational qualifications are now his albatrosses as he faces disqualification by the party ahead of the May 2022 primaries.

Abiodun has hired a legal icon, Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) to write APC that his criminal records in U.S. were not sufficient grounds for his disqualification by the party.

According to Abiodun, APC as a political party lacks the power to disqualify him and that only a competent court of law could do so had the statutes of limitations for such matters not passed.

“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 Sen. Abdulahi Adamu, APC National Chairman, citing Section 29(6) of the Electoral Act 2022.

Abiodun’s legal team 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,” the lawyer wrote.

This was in response to a petition submitted by APC member Ayodele Oludiran on behalf of Oluwatobi Sofela of Ogun Bibire Unity Forum, who warned the party might lose the governorship seat in Ogun due to Mr Abiodun’s criminal history and its concealment from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) despite swearing to an oath.

He also cautioned that the discrepancies in the governor’s educational qualifications might also cause opposition parties to question the eligibility of Gov. 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 said in a statement.

Abiodun, with jail number 8600B9436, had filed an application for a redaction of his criminal records in Miami Dade, Florida. The request was granted in 2015.

Persecondnews recalls that in May 2021, Abiodun’s Special Assistant and long time associate,  Abidemi Rufai, was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the U.S. for his role in a $650 million (N312 billion) employment fraud.

He is still in U.S. prison undergoing prosecution.