Ogun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abeokuta, will, on Saturday, deliver judgment in the petition filed by the governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Ladi Adebutu, against Governor Dapo Abiodun.

The tribunal had on September 4 reserved its judgement after parties adopted their final addresses.

Advertorial

The Hamidu Kunaza-led tribunal told parties that the “judgment is reserved until a date to be communicated to parties.”

Our correspondent gathered that the tribunal fixed the judgment for Saturday.

The secretary of the Tribunal, Mrs. Ezenta Obioma, confirmed this in Abeokuta.

Counsel to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Dr Remi Olatubora (SAN), also confirmed the development to our correspondent.

PDP and Adebutu are challenging the victory of Abiodun at the March 18 Governorship election.

INEC had declared Abiodun winner after polling 276,298 votes, while Adebutu scored 262,38 and Biyi Otegbeye of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) came distant third with 94,754 votes.

Adebutu in the petition sought an order of the court to declare him as winner of the election.

The petitioners also prayed the court to order the INEC to conduct fresh elections in 99 polling units in 41 wards which cut across 16 Local government areas of the State where elections were either not held and/or cancelled due to disruption and over-voting.

Former chairman of Ijebu East Local Government in Ogun State, Wale Adedayo, has regained freedom from the Ibara Correctional Centre in Abeokuta, barely about two days after his remand in the facility.

The Police Command in the state had Tuesday arraigned Adedayo, before a Magistrate’s Court sitting in Abeokuta, the state capital, on a two-count charge.

Advertorial

The charge followed a petition written against Adedayo by the state government.

Adedayo had accused Governor Dapo Abiodun of diverting statutory Federal allocations of all the 20 LGs in the state.

He also petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), seeking Abiodun’s probe on the allegations.

Adedayo was later suspended by the seven councillors from the LG following allegations against the governor, and also held and grilled for three days by the Department of State Security (DSS), Ogun Command, in Abeokuta.

He was impeached on September 14 by five out eleven Councillors in the LG.

When arraigned on Tuesday, he pleaded not guilty to the two-count charge.

The two-count charge read “That you Hon. Wale Adedayo ‘m’ on the 27th August 2023 at Abeokuta in the Abeokuta Magisterial District did unlawfully publish circular to the public, a letter addressed to the former Governor of Ogun State and Elder Stateman, Aremo Olusegun Osoba ‘m’ in which you accused the present Governor of Ogun State: Prince Dapo Abiodun ‘m’ of hijacking Local Government funds which you knew was false allegation and likely to cause fear and alarm to the public or to disturb the public peace, knowing or having reason to believe that such statement is a rumour and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 59(1) of Criminal Code laws of Ogun State, 2006.

“That you Hon. Wale Adedayo ‘m’ on the same date and place in the aforesaid Magisterial District did unlawfully publish circular to the public, a letter addressed to the former Governor of Ogun State and Elder Stateman, Aremo Olusegun Osoba ‘m’ in which you accused the present Governor of Ogun State; Prince Dapo Abiodun ‘m’ of hijacking Local Government funds (ten percent (10%) of the State Internally Generated Revenue which the Constitution stipulate should go to the Local Government(s) since May, 2019 which you knew was a false allegation and likely to injure the reputation of the Governor by exposing him to hatred, contempt or ridicule or to damage him in discharge of his office and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 375 of Criminal Code laws of Ogun State, 2006.”

In his ruling, Magistrate A.K Araba admitted him to bail with the sum of N2million and two ‘responsible and reliable sureties’ in like sum.

Araba said the sureties must be resident within the jurisdiction of court and must posses landed property with tax clearance.

The Magistrate, however, ordered his remand at Ibara Correctional facility, Abeokuta, pending perfection of the bail conditions.

Adedayo was taken to the Correctional facility after he failed to meet the bail conditions.

He, however, left the facility on Thursday afternoon upon perfecting the bail conditions.

“Olodumare is faithful. He has never failed. And He will never fail. Despite the schemings, despite the deliberate efforts, Omo Olofin Ogbolu is out. We’ll not relent. We’ll not step back,” Adedayo posted on his Facebook page while announcing his freedom.

Adedayo is expected in Court on October 20, 2023 for trial commencement.

The Kaduna State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in the state capital has dismissed the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the 2023 election, Isah Ashiru against the victory of Governor Uba Sani of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In a dissenting judgment of two against one, delivered on Thursday, a three-member panel headed by Justice Victor Oviawie dismissed the petition on the ground that the pre-hearing notice was filed out of time and therefore deemed to be abandoned.

Advertorial

The tribunal chairman and another member held that the appeal brought by PDP and Ashiru against the dismissal of their petition at the preliminary stage by the first and second defendants wasn’t meritorious because the filing of the pre-hearing notice was abandoned and out of time, and therefore had dealt the entire petition a fatal blow.

However, the tribunal noted that if the petition had not been dismissed for lack of merit, it would have ordered a supplementary election in 22 polling units within 90 days in the substantive judgement.

PDP and Ashiru are challenging the declaration of Governor Uba as the winner of the March 18th governorship election.

Senator Sani during the election polled a total of 730,001 votes to defeat his closest rival, Mister Ashiru of the PDP, who scored 719, 196 votes.

The Labour Party (LP) candidate, Jonathan Asake came a distant third with 58,283 votes, while Suleiman Hunkuyi of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) scored 21,405 votes.

While the Labour Party and NNPP accepted the outcome of the election, the PDP and its candidate rejected the results, alleging that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the wrong candidate winner of the election.

PDP and Ashiru alleged that there were massive irregularities and manipulation of results in favour of Governor Ubah in some local governments by INEC. According to them, the APC candidate did not score the highest number of valid votes cast in the election and ought not to have been returned winner of the election by INEC.

In June 2023, PDP and Ashiru, however, filed a petition at the election petition tribunal to challenge the election of Governor Uba.

At the last sitting of the court on September 3rd, all parties presented their final written addresses before the tribunal, with APC’s legal team led by a former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Bayo Ojo (SAN), arguing that the petitioners had helped in proving he won the election free and fair, pointing in particular to the admission of a star witness for the petitioner, Bonett Gwazah, a senior system analyst in the VR/ICT department of INEC in Kaduna State.

…Says Position Of INEC Chairman Should Be Advertised And Not Appointed By The President 

Following the violence and controversies that trailed the 2023 general elections, a former Presidential Candidate and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Mr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim has canvassed a further reform of the Electoral Act that will address the recruitment of the leadership of the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC and make it truly “independent” of external control and influence before the 2027 election.

This he said is necessary so that the 2027 general polls would not be “war.”

Advertorial

The INEC was established by the 1999 Constitution to among other things organize elections into various political offices in the country among other functions as contained in Section 15, Part 1 of the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution (As Amended) and Section 2 of the Electoral Act 2010 (As Amended).

To make Nigeria’s election free, fair and violence-free, Olawepo-Hashim recommended that the position of the Chairman of the INEC and National Commissioners should be advertised and not appointed by the President.

He also stressed the fact that the Electoral Act should put the onus of proof of the conduct of credible election on INEC and not on the petitioner.

He revealed that during the military regimes, he and other activists fought for a truly independent INEC, the positions should be advertised, while the National Judicial Service Commission, NJSC, should be the collation agency, independent of the Executive.

His words: “In 1999, we won the election on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, but who were those that asked for an independent electoral commission? We were the ones. We were not behaving like people who were sure they were going to get power, because we were believers in democracy.

“So, Nigerians need believers in democracy across parties to survive, not APC and PDP. This is beyond APC and PDP. If we don’t sort out the electoral system right now, and not six months to election, or one year, the 2027 election is going to be a war. Nobody will be going to court. So, we don’t want that.

“Nigeria needs statesmen not politicians. We don’t need politicians in the drivers’ seats of the reform of our state institutions. We need statesmen to speak up.

Olawepo-Hashim continued: “The issue of electoral reform is not the business for the opposition alone. It is the business for everyone who loves Nigeria because if we don’t reform the process, and elections can’t be delivered credibly, 2027 will be a war.

“We have to rescue the democratic process because it is becoming meaningless. Why are we having a coup d’etat all over Africa? Because people did not see any content in what we call democracy.

“I know that people have their expectations in the judiciary but judges adjudicate based on law and evidence and the truth of the matter is that the Electoral Act has skewed the balance in favour of the winner of the election and the man who organized the election.”

The Ebonyi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja has upheld the election of Francis Nwifuru as governor of the state.

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Mr Nwifuru, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the 18 March governorship election after he secured a total of 199,131votes to defeat his closest challenger, Ifeanyi Odii of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who garnered 80,191 votes.

Advertorial

The candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Prof. Bernard Odoh came third with 52,189 votes.

Prof. Odoh and his party, the APGA, challenged the declaration of Mr Nwifuru as the elected governor of the state and asked the tribunal to nullify his election on the grounds of alleged certificate forgery and “ineligibility” to stand for the election.

The APGA candidate, a geophysics professor, contended that Mr Nwifuru, at the time of the election, was still a member of the PDP and therefore ineligible to be sponsored for the election by the APC.

Mr Odoh further argued that Mr Nwifuru was not qualified to stand for the election because he allegedly submitted a fake certificate to INEC.

He urged the tribunal to order for a second election between the other two candidates who scored the highest number of votes at the previous election and exclude the governor from taking part in it.

Delivering judgment, on Wednesday, a three-member panel of judges headed by Lekan Ogunmoye ruled that the petitioners failed to prove that Mr Nwifuru was at the time of the election not qualified to contest the election.

It held that there was “substantial material evidence” before the tribunal that the governor duly resigned his membership of the PDP.

The tribunal further held that the petitioners failed to approach a competent court to entertain the issue of membership of a political party, adding that it has no power to entertain an issue that took place before the election.

The tribunal also said that the petitioners have no locus standi to challenge the membership of a candidate of another political party

The tribunal further held that the claim that Mr Nwifuru’s APC form was forged holds no water because the allegation was not supported by any evidence from the petitioners.

“It will be unjust to hold that the 2nd Respondent (Nwifuru) was not qualified to contest the Governorship election of Ebonyi State by the mere fact that he failed to vacate his seat in line with the order in judgment delivered by Justice Ekwo,” the tribunal ruled.

It accordingly struck out the petition.

Kano State government has vowed to file a petition against one of the judges of the Kano Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, Justice Benson Anya, for his comments about the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and the Kwankwasiyya political movement.

The tribunal last week sacked Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of the NNPP as the state governor in a unanimous judgment read by the chairman of the three-member panel, Justice Oluyemi Akintan-Osadebay.

Advertorial

In his consenting judgment, Justice Anya had said that Governor Yusuf presided over a state where anarchy was being supported and agents of the government were allowed to malign the judiciary.

He also referred to NNPP members as “red cap wearers”, “violent and terrorist cults”, “bandits” and “bitter losers” over a threat against the lives of the tribunal judges.

Reacting to the comments, the state Commissioner for Information, Baba Halilu Dantiye, while briefing newsmen on Tuesday said Justice Anya did not only insult people wearing red caps but “insulted late Malam Aminu Kano who was the champion of wearing a red cap in Kano, and patriotic citizens of Kano State.”

Dantiye, who said he was speaking on behalf of the state government, said the judge could not just come “to Kano and abuse Malam Aminu Kano. We will make sure that he pays for what he has done. We will explore all options for the unnecessary abuse.

“While we know the judgement is dead on arrival, we will not slow down in promoting the dividends of democracy to the good people of Kano State. Nothing will scare or slow us down. We are determined to make up all the promises made to the good people of Kano.

“As you are all aware, our legal representatives are on course to go for appeal as instructed by the Governor which we are confident of reclaiming our mandate,” he said.

Dantiye added that the state government was interested in knowing whether the judge was “right to use personal sentiments and quash our victory and also seek justice on this. The Nigeria Judicial Council (NJC) and other appropriate channels are there. We will file a petition against him”.

“A judge cannot just sit down because of unfounded death threats to be impartial in our judgement. This clearly showed to us that you are not being fair and just in this election verdict,” he said.