THE Ogun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has affirmed the victory of Dapo Abiodun at the March 18 Governorship election in the state.
The tribunal panel issued its verdict on Saturday.
Following the victory of Gov Abiodun at the polls, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Hon Oladipupo Adebutu, contested the announcement of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at the Tribunal.
They based their petitions on: allegations of non-compliance; overvoting and; disenfranchisement of voters and corrupt practices during the polls.
After hearing the petition, the 3-man Tribunal chaired by Justice Hamidu Kanaza, unanimously affirmed Abiodun’s election victory.
“I uphold the election of Dapo Abiodun as the dully elected governor of Ogun State in the March 18 election,” Justice Kanaza announced.
The tribunal panel dismissed the petition marked EPT/ OG/GOV/03/2023 for lacking merit.
According to the panel, tbe Petitioner could not produce the about 49,000 voters it claimed had been disenfranchised as witnesses in the case.
“On disenfranchisement, Tribunal holds that all disenfranchised voters must testify that they were ready to vote; if they were allowed to vote their candidate would have won; and that they had their voters’ cards and were registered voters
“These requirements were not met in this case as the 49,000 plus witnesses that Petitioners allege were disenfranchised were not produced as witnesses,” the panel held.
Kunaza held that the petitioners could not produce facts to back up their case.
“On the whole the petitioners have not successfully prove the allegation of non compliance with the electoral act and have not discharge the burden of prove,” Kunaza read in the judgment.
The panel held that the petitioner could not prove to it that indeed Abiodun was once detained in the United States of America (U.S.A) as it claimed.
On Abiodun having a criminal record, the panel held that the jail intake document tendered before the court as evidence did not prove that it was Abiodun’s fingerprints on it.
“That petitioners have not linked the Governor to the name Shawn Michael on that document and the witness who tendered it never even said how he came upon that document, having conceded that he had never been to Florida before his testimony
“Tribunal adds that assuming the Governor was truly the arrested in the jail intake document, the Constitution disqualifies a candidate for a conviction within the last 10 years preceding the election but that the incident in the jail intake form occurred in 1986 – 37 years ago,” the panel stated in its verdict.
