Godwin Tsa, Abuja
Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of Osun State has asked the Court of Appeal to set aside the majority judgment of the state governorship tribunal and restore his mandate as the validly elected governor of the state.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Oyetola, who contested the governorship election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as winner based on the supplementary election held on September 27, 2018.
However, the state election tribunal sitting in Abuja, in a judgment delivered on March 22, voided his election. The tribunal, by a majority judgment given by two of its three members, nullified the election of Oyetola and pronounced Ademola Adeleke of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) winner.
The tribunal further ordered INEC to issue him a certificate of return. But in a 39-ground notice of appeal filed on March 26, 2019, by his team of lawyers, led by Wole Olanipekun, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Oyetola faulted the majority judgment, given by Justices Peter Obiora and Anyinla Gbolagunte, on the ground that it was perverse, replete with contradictions and not supported by evidence led by the petitioners.
Oyetola, therefore, asked the Court of Appeal to uphold his appeal, set aside the majority judgment, and dismiss the October 16, 2018 petition by PDP and Adeleke.
The governor said his complaint, in the appeal, was against the entire majority judgment, except where the tribunal held that it lacked jurisdiction to set aside INEC guidelines; that the allegation of over voting was not proved; that the petitioners did not prove voided votes and other parts of the judgment where the tribunal agreed with their arguments.
It is his contention on the first ground of his appeal that the entire majority judgment is a nullity, because it was written and delivered by Obiora, “who did not participate in all the proceedings of the tribunal, and who was not present when all the witnesses gave evidence.”
He noted that Obiora was absent on February 6 this year, when the respondents’ witnesses (RWs) 12 and 13 – Ayoola Soji and Oladejo Kazeem, testified and tendered exhibits, which the tribunal admitted in evidence.
The appellant argued that having not attended the tribunal’s sitting on February 6, 2019, Obiora could not see the two witnesses and was unable to examine their demeanour as required and, therefore, unlawful for the judge to have authored a judgment in which he reviewed the evidence given by the witnesses.
He said: “The writing of, and or the participation of the honourable Justice P. C. Obiora in the writing of the judgment of the lower tribunal of March 22, 2019, and delivery of same, vitiates the entire judgment.”
Oyetola also argued that the tribunal, in its majority judgment, erred in law and acted without jurisdiction when it accepted the petitioners’ complaint of non compliance with the provisions of Electoral Act in relation to the September 22, 2018 governorship election in Osun State, and on that basis proceeded to nullify the victory of Oyetola and APC.
It was equally the appellant’s contention that the tribunal acted without jurisdiction by basing its decision to uphold the petition, and set aside the return of the appellants on the basis of allegation of non-compliance with the Electoral Act, in relation to the September 22 governorship election.