SIA & GNI
The electoral battle for Ogun State may have been fought at the last elections but the contest seems not over yet. At present, there is an uneasy calm within both the camps of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state over where the pendulum of victory would swing at the Election Petitions Tribunal.
Though the ruling APC trounced the opposition PDP at the poll, supporters of both parties have continued to take keen interest in the unfolding proceedings at the Governorship as well as National and State Houses of Assembly election tribunals.
The courtrooms at the tribunal venue in Isabo, Abeokuta are usually filled to capacity. With legal fireworks from different counsels and frequent verbal altercations between rival political stalwarts, each sitting of the tribunal had always been a delight.
However, as the tribunal sittings reach crucial stages, the fate of the state governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, and his main challenger in the PDP, Prince Gboyega Isiaka, is hanging in the balance. Already, judgment has been reserved in the petition against the election of the Senator representing Ogun East, Buruji Kashamu, thus raising tension in the ranks of party members.
Following the conduct of the March 28 Presidential election and April 11 governorship poll, 14 petitions were filed by aggrieved candidates before the elections tribunal.
These petitions include two for governorship, one senatorial seat, one House of Representatives seat and 10 for state House of Assembly seats. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had returned Amosun as winner of the Ogun governorship election but the PDP gubernatorial candidate, Prince Gboyega Isiaka, challenged the result on the grounds that the election was rigged and manipulated in favour of the APC. In the petition marked ‘EPT/GOV/ ABK/001/15,’ Isiaka and the PDP joined Amosun and 127 others as respondents.
The petitioners averred that they won the governorship election and alleged that Amosun was not duly elected by a majority of lawful votes cast in the election. They also claimed, among others, that voter cards belonging to deceased people were used by some supporters of the respondents to vote during the election.
Apart from the PDP, the Mega Progressive People’s Party (MPPP) also filed a petition before the Justice Henry Olusiyi-led governorship Election Petitions Tribunal. The MPPP sought the nullification of Amosun’s victory due to the alleged exclusion of its governorship candidate, Mrs. Iyabode Ogunmefun, from the April 11 election.
The petition, signed by the MPPP National Chairman, Hon. Hamisu Santuraki, averred that its governorship candidate was validly nominated but was unlawfully excluded from the poll by INEC. In the petition marked ‘EPT/GOV/ABK/002/2015,’ the INEC, APC, Amosun and Mrs. Yetunde Onanuga (deputy governor) were joined as first, second, third and fourth respondents respectively. The MPPP prayed for an order of the tribunal declaring as null and void the exclusion of its gubernatorial candidate.
The party also sought an order directing INEC to conduct a re-run election for governorship of the state. But on July 10, the three-member tribunal struck out the MPPP petition. Justice Olusiyi, who is the panel chairman, declared that the petitioner failed to present documentary evidence to back up his claim.
The tribunal, which ruled on three motions on notice filed before it by the respondents, said the MPPP petition was incurably incompetent. INEC, APC and Amosun had filed their applications pursuant to section 285 (5) of the 1999 constitution (as amended) seeking the dismissal of the MPPP petition in its entirety because the petition was filed outside the mandatory 21 days requirement. Justice Olusiyi agreed and ruled in their favour.
However, the major hurdle before Amosun and his party is the PDP petition at the tribunal. Isiaka had claimed that he won 14 out of the 20 local government areas of the state in the April 11 gubernatorial election.
According to him, field report before the election was concluded showed that it was favouring him.
The PDP standard bearer is specifically challenging the votes that accrued to his opponent from Ado-Odo/Ota, Abeokuta North, Abeokuta South, Ewekoro, Ifo, Obafemi- Owode, Odeda, Remo and Sagamu local government areas, which, according to him, were manipulated against his party.
Justice Olusiyi fixed August 10 for definite hearing in the petition. He also granted Isiaka’s application to inspect the materials used for the gubernatorial election despite the opposition of Amosun’s counsel.
Isiaka had sought the leave of the court to inspect and make copies of Certified True Copies of ballot papers, incident forms, election manual and guideline, result sheets, downloaded data from the card readers, among others in nine of the 20 local government areas in the state. He had, through his counsel, argued that the documents being sought would assist in the determination of the substantive petition before the tribunal.
When the definite hearing ought to commence on August 10, Isiaka’s counsel, Adetunji Oyeyipo (SAN), sought for the permission of the court to extend the time for inspection of electoral materials, arguing that the seven days earlier granted was not enough to carry out the exercise.
While granting the application, Justice Olusiyi extended the inspection by three more days as requested by the petitioners. When the tribunal resumed on Thursday August 13, more witnesses of the PDP candidate appeared in court to testify in the petition. Isiaka’s counsel called five witnesses, including party leaders and agents.
All the witnesses adopted their written statements on oath and were cross-examined by Amosun’s counsel, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), APC’s George Oyeniyi and INEC’s Oluwadare Ogunnaike. On Tuesday August 18, the tribunal admitted in evidence electoral materials brought before it by INEC. The materials, numbering over 70,000, were brought to the tribunal by the Deputy Director/Head of Department (Electoral Operations), Samuel Ogunjemilua, through a writ of subpoena.
The electoral materials admitted in evidence included Certified True Copies of election result sheets, including forms EC8A, EC8B, EC8C, EC8D, EC8E; Voter Registers and Incident Forms. The exhibits, which were conveyed in four INEC-branded Toyota Hilux vans, belong to nine of the 20 local government areas of the state namely Abeokuta North, Abeokuta South, Ado-Odo/Ota, Ewekoro, Ifo, Obafemi-Owode, Odeda, Remo North and Sagamu.
On its part, the ruling APC filed a total of 11 petitions. These include the Ogun East Senatorial District and the House of Representatives seat in Ijebu North/Ijebu East/ Ogun Waterside Federal Constituency which were won by PDP. In the state House of Assembly elections, the APC also filed nine petitions challenging the victory of PDP candidates.
The contentious constituencies include Ipokia, Ijebu East, Ijebu North I, Ijebu-Ode, Sagamu II, Imeko-Afon, Egbado North II, Ijebu North East and Egbado South.
The APC petitioners claimed that the election of their opponents did not meet or satisfy the requirements of the law. They alleged that the elections were invalid by reason of corrupt practices and electoral malpractices and therefore sought reliefs ranging from nullification to fresh conduct of election in the affected state constituencies. Also, the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) filed a petition challenging PDP’s victory in Egbado South State Constituency. The UPN sought nullification of the election due to the omission and exclusion of its name and logo from the ballot papers.
The petitioners prayed the tribunal to order the conduct of a fresh election with the petitioners’ names, logos and other emblems of identification to be placed on the ballot. Sunday Telegraph gathered that the petitions are at various stages of hearing. Meanwhile, the National and State Houses of Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abeokuta has reserved judgment in the petition brought before it against Kashamu’s election.
The petition was filed by the APC senatorial candidate for Ogun East, Dapo Abiodun, challenging the victory of Kashamu in the March 28 Presidential and National Assembly election. On Monday August 3, the chairman of the three-man panel, Justice Ebiowei Tobi, said that he reserved judgment to a later date which “will be communicated to the counsel.”
This was after counsels to the parties in the suit ‘EPT/SEN/ABK/001/2015’ adopted their written addresses and made final submission to further convince the court about merit of their cases. Kashamu, who contested on the PDP platform, was represented by his counsel, Ajibola Oluyede (SAN) while Yusuf Ali (SAN) represented Dapo Abiodun.
Many political watchers are interested in how the tribunal would dispense justice in the various petitions. But the panel members have assured of their readiness to deliver justice without fear or favour. One of them, Justice Olusiyi, who heads the governorship tribunal, also warned political parties or individuals against compromising the panel members. He maintained that the panel cannot be compromised or corrupted by anyone.
His words: “We are here to undertake an assignment which we have sworn to do with our clear conscience, we have reputation that God has given us and that is why we were found worthy for this assignment.
“We cannot be compromised, we can’t be corrupted, we can’t be influenced by anybody. We have a feeling that some people may be putting themselves out as being able to reach us with money. All parties should warn their clients; we will not tolerate anyone going behind us to collect money to reach us. If anybody has given anybody money, he or she is on his own. We have unblemished record and nobody can dent our image.
“If you have given anybody money, you are on your own. If you have given anybody money, go and collect your money. If anybody is collecting money, that person is on his own and they will be exposed as time goes on. We don’t want to talk much.”
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