WOLE BALOGUN, Ado-Ekiti

The Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Ado-Ekiti on Saturday dismissed three petitions filed by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) against the three candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 23, 2019, National Assembly elections.

The petitions were filed by Kehinde Agboola, Nicolas Olusola Omotosho and Duro Faseyi against Peter Owolabi, Ibrahim Olanrewaju and Olubunmi Adetumbi respectively.

The three-man panel in a unanimous judgment read by the tribunal chairman, Hon Justice DD Adeck in the petition filed by Faseyi against Adetumbi, upheld the preliminary objection filed by the respondent and dismissed the petition.

Other members of the panel were Justice CN Mbanu Nwenyi and Justice Khadi MS Abubakar, delivered judgment on Agboola and Olarenwaju’s petitions respectively.

In the almost six-hour judgment, the tribunal held that in the merit of the case the petition was liable to be dismissed, having not being proved as required by the law.

Justice Adeck ruled that having also failed to call witnesses from the venue of the APC primaries, the petitioner came to the tribunal empty handed and was bound to go home empty handed and poorer.

The PDP and its candidates, through their counsel, Ahmed Raji (SAN) had petitioned against the APC, its candidates and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) claiming that the APC had no candidates for Ekiti North senatorial district, Ekiti North federal constituency One and Two, where Senator Olubunmi Adetumbi, Peter Owolabi and Ibrahim Olanrewaju were declared winners respectively by INEC .

Chief Rafiu Balogun and Kabiru Akingbolu were the counsels to the second respondents (candidates) and first respondent (APC) in the matter.

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While the APC was the first respondent in the petition, the candidates and INEC were second and third respondents respectively. The grounds of petition and reliefs were the same in the three suits.

The petitioners also deposed that there was no valid candidates for APC since no primaries was held by the first respondent (APC) and the nomination of the second respondents (candidates) was null and void.

The plaintiffs also asked the court to declare that the votes accrued to the respondents are wasted votes and declare their candidates as winners of the elections.

But the lead counsel to the respondents, Chief Balogun, in his defense, argued the claim by the petitioners that the APC did not conduct primaries amounted to hear say since the witness called by the petitioner testified that he only saw some protesters alleging that there was no election.

He also argued that the purported INEC’s report on APC primaries had no value, stressing that the document told lies against itself, since it was signed a day before the official declaration of the results by the electoral umpire.

“We also argued that the tribunal lacks the loco standi to entertain the petition since it is a pre-election matter and only the aspirant who participated in the primaries can challenge the process in line with Section 87, Sub 1 of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.”

It was also noted that the petitions were statue barred since they were not filed within 14 days after the primaries as stipulated by the law.

According the to him, the APC primaries were held on October 5, 2019, while the results were declared by INEC on October 6, but the petitions were filed on November 6.

Counsel to the respondent also argued that the court had no loco standi to hear the case since it was a pre-election matter which only state or federal High Court could handle.