Moshood Adebayo and Laide Raheem, beokuta
Ogun State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal will, tomorrow, deliver judgement on the legal battle between candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dapo Abiodun, and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Adekunle Akinlade.
The APM and Akinlade had filed a petition marked EPT/OG/GOV/01/19 before the tribunal, alleging over-voting and Abiodun’s lack of qualification to contest March 9 governorship election.
During the election, Abiodun polled 241,670 votes to be declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), while Akinlade scored 222,153 votes.
Candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Gboyega Isiaka, polled 110,422 votes, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Buruji Kashamu, polled 70,290 votes.
The Justice Yusuf Halilu-led panel had last month, August 19, reserved its ruling after all parties adopted final written addresses before the tribunal.
The tribunal secretary, Nyir Henry Sekulla, who confirmed that the tribunal would deliver judgment tomorrow, said all parties have been duly informed.
Amid fear of breakdown of law and order, the Ogun State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, in a telephone interview, told Daily Sun that the command was more than prepared for the judgement.
Meanwhile, the state government has said the reported N15.8 billion spent on roads construction and rehabilitation in the state was under the immediate past administration in the state.
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works, Kayode Ademolake, was quoted to have told House of Assembly members Committee on Works, who were on oversight visit to his office that the state government spent the N15. 8 billion in six months.
But, the government, in a statement by Kunle Somorin, chief press secretary to Governor Dapo Abiodun, yesterday, faulted Ademolake’s submission and said the amount was expended by the last administration between January and June.
Somorin said Abiodun resumed in May and did not award any of the contracts listed by the permanent secretary.
“Our attention has been drawn to a malicious, libellous and patently misleading publication, suggesting that the Ogun State government spent N15.8 billion on the rehabilitation and construction of roads.
“The headline misled people into believing that the cost was incurred by the current administration.
“That is not true. The amount quoted was incurred by the previous administration between January and June this year.
“Governor Abiodun took oath of office on May 29 and didn’t award any of the contracts showcased by the permanent secretary during the oversight meeting. He was only 48 hours on the saddle at the beginning of June, the last month under review.
“The governor wants to reassure our people that, as a responsible government, it would be preposterous to embark on projects whose cost cannot be justified and at variance with universally accepted standard and due process.
“While dissociating our government from rapacious contracts, be reassured that rule of law, probity and accountability shall govern our conduct in handling the commonwealth of Ogun State,” Somorin said in the statement.