From Priscilla Ediare, Ado Ekiti
Chief Segun Oni, the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the recently concluded June 18 election in Ekiti State, has filed a petition before the election tribunal to challenge the victory of the governor-elect, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Oyebanji as the winner of the election having polled 187,057 votes against the second runner-up, Oni, who scored 82,211 votes.
Oni, who believes that he won the election, has commenced a legal battle to challenge the outcome of the poll submitting a 1,097-page petition before the election tribunal.
Oni, who spoke to newsmen shortly after submitting his petition on Thursday evening at the High Court premises in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, said: “I’m here to submit my petition in accordance to the law and we are doing this to defend the sanctity of the system. I am challenging the election result because I believe that I won.”
Oni’s legal counsel, Obafemi Adewale, SAN, who also spoke, said: “If he thought that the election was free, fair and credible he will not be challenging the result. If he didn’t think that he won the election freely and fairly he will not be challenging the result of the election. But you know that the conclusions are to be made by the tribunal at the end of the trial
“But the most important thing is that the candidate is here because he wants justice done in accordance with the law. If he believes that he won the majority of the lawful votes at the election but he was not declared as the winner of the election.”
Adewale said his client also believed that the person who was declared by the INEC did not win with the majority of the lawful vote casts.