Expectations are high in the camp of both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Accord Party (AP) on the likely outcome of the tribunal’s judgment today on the winner of the April 11, 2015 governorship election in Oyo State.
The Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, sitting in Ibadan, the state capital, after four months of legal fireworks, fixed today, to decide on who actually won the poll between former governor of the state, Senator Rasheed Ladoja and the incumbent, Senator Abiola Ajimobi.
But dissatisfied with the outcome of the election, Ladoja, who contested on the platform of AP, challenged the validity of the victory of Ajimobi of the APC, before the tribunal, joining the APC, the state Resident Electoral Commissioner and INEC in the petition.
The Director General, Ladoja Campaign Organisation and former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Adeolu Adeleke, said, on Monday, that “We are expecting the declaration of Senator Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja as the duly elected governor by the tribunal in April 11, 2015 governorship election.”
The Director of Publicity and Strategy of the APC in the state, Mr. Wale Shadare, said Ajimobi and APC were sure of victory, though not pre-empting the judgment that would be delivered today.
He described Ladoja as a comedian, saying he raised so many issues, that he could not prove before the tribunal.
The tribunal was inaugurated in June, with Justice F.C. Obieze as chairman, and Justices I.M Muhammad Karaye and J.E. Ikede as members.
But the tribunal did not commence the pre-hearing session before Justice Obieze proceeded on retirement as a result of attaining 65 years.
The pre-hearing session commenced in July when new the chairman, Justice Mohammed Mayaki, who was appointed by the President of the Court of Appeal, resumed to lead the panel.
Ladoja, who claimed that he scored the highest number of votes with 25 per cent in 22 of the 33 local government areas of the state, asked the tribunal to declare him winner of the election or order a rerun.
The lead counsel to Ladoja, Mr. Richard Ogunwole (SAN), in the petition marked EPT/IB/GOV/22/2015, contended that election took place in 23 local government areas and in some units in the remaining 10 local governments, adding that the election was fraught with non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).
He alleged that there were cases of non-accreditation of voters, deliberate refusal to use the smart card readers, over-voting, multiple thumb-printing of ballot papers, ballot-stuffing, snatching of ballot boxes and so on.
He tendered close to 200 exhibits and called many witnesses in support of his petition during the hearing session.
The lead counsel to Ajimobi (first respondent), Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) told the tribunal that the petition was grossly incompetent and there was no substantial evidence in it, urging the panel to dismiss it.
According to him, Ladoja did not emerge as governorship candidate of the AP through party primaries and so, he was not qualified to stand for the election.
But Ogunwole asked Olanipekun to provide a proof that Ladoja did not emerge through party primaries or evidence that the party did not conduct primaries.
However, the lead counsel to APC (second respondent), Chief Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), and lead counsel to the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) (third respondent) and the INEC (fourth respondent), Mallam Yusuf Ali (SAN) defended the results announced by the electoral umpire as credible.
The tribunal, which admitted many of the documents tendered by Ladoja in support of his petition, also dismissed the application of the petitioners, which sought to submit the forensic report of the recounting of ballot papers.
Ladoja challenged the dismissal at the application at Court of Appeal, but the appellate court, in its ruling on Wednesday October 14, 2015, upheld the decision of the tribunal.
The tribunal also threw out the objections raised by counsel to the respondents that the motion brought before the court by the appellant was not duly signed.
The tribunal held that the motion was duly signed by leading counsel of the appellant, Richard Ogunwole (SAN), and therefore dismissed the objection.
source-->Dailytimes.com.ng