The Court of Appeal sitting in Ibadan has affirmed the victory of Mr. Seyi Makinde of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the Oyo State governorship election.
The court upheld the decision of the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, which declared Governor Makinde as the winner of the March 9 poll, in a unanimous judgement delivered by Justice Abubakar Yahaya on Monday.
It, however, dismissed the appeal filed by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the election, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu.
Justice Yahaya, the lead judge of the four-man panel, despite upholding the decision of the Tribunal, however, disagreed with the lower court on issues bordering on documents tendered by the APC. He held that the documents tendered by the appellants ought to have guided the Tribunal through proper investigation, stressing that the pieces of evidence were also not adequately evaluated.
The lead judge noted that the Tribunal had committed a miscarriage of justice by its failure to analyse the tendered documents and its failure to evaluate the pieces of evidence presented by the APC.
In his reaction, the PDP lead counsel, Eyitayo Jegede, told reporters that Makinde remains the governor since there has been no counter directive by the appellate court on his victory. The lead counsel to APC, Adeboye Shobanjo, on his part, agreed with the court for allowing the appeal to hold. He, however, stressed that the Tribunal delivered a one-sided judgement.
In the same vein, the Appeal Court upheld the judgement of the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal which validated Dapo Abiodun’s victory and set aside the appeal filed by the candidate of the Allied People’s Movement, APM, Adekunle Akinlade.
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A four-man appeal panel of justices had on November 4 reserved its ruling on the two appeals after counsels had adopted their written addresses.
At Monday’s sitting, the appellate court upheld the election of Mr. Abiodun as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Mohammed Ambi-Usi Danjuma, who stood in for the head of the panel, Justice Abubakar Yahyah.
It dismissed the appeal filed by Mr. Akinlade for lack of merit, saying Governor Abiodun won the poll having secured the highest number of lawful votes cast.
Shortly after the judgement was delivered, the APC in Ogun commended the decision of the appellate court through its publicity secretary, Tunde Oladunjoye. Oladunjoye spoke at a press conference held at the party’s secretariat in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
According to him, the party is extending a hand of fellowship to members of opposition parties to join hands in building the state’s economy.
The APC publicity secretary attributed the victory at the appeal court to God, as well as the support and understanding of the residents of the state.
He called for more cooperation and a better understanding of the Dapo Abiodun administration’s policies and programmes. Oladunjoye gave assurance that the party would ensure an inclusive government, saying Governor Abiodun would not betray the confidence reposed in him by the people of Ogun.
Source: Channels TV
