The Appeal Court, sitting in Lagos on Friday, affirmed the re-election of Governor Dapo Abiodun in the March 18 Ogun State governorship election.
The appellate court, in a split decision of two to one, dismissed the appeal filed by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Ladi Adebutu, against Governor Abiodun.
The majority judgement was delivered by Justice Joseph Shagbaor Ikyegh while Justice Jane Esienanwan Inyang delivered the minority judgement. Justice Inyang allowed the appeal filed by the PDP candidate and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct fresh election within 90 days.
INEC had declared Abiodun winner of the keenly contested election with 276,298 votes, while Adebutu polled 262,383 votes to come second, thus trailing the winner with 13,915 votes margin.
The PDP candidate had challenged the validity of Abiodun’s nomination as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on the grounds that he allegedly made a false declaration of his academic qualifications and assets in his Form CF001 submitted to INEC.
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However, the Appeal Court held that the issue of Abiodun’s qualification was a pre-election matter that could not be entertained by the Election Petition Tribunal. The court also held that Adebutu failed to prove that Abiodun’s alleged false declaration affected the outcome of the election.
The court further held that Adebutu lacked the locus standi to challenge Abiodun’s nomination as he was not a member of the APC or an aspirant in the party’s primary election.
The court, therefore, upheld the judgement of the Election Petition Tribunal, which had earlier dismissed Adebutu’s petition for lacking merit.
Abiodun, who was present in court, expressed his gratitude to God and the judiciary for the verdict. He said he was not surprised by the outcome, as he had always believed in the rule of law and the will of the people.
He also extended a hand of fellowship to Adebutu and other opposition candidates, urging them to join hands with him in moving the state forward.
Adebutu, on his part, said he was disappointed by the judgement and vowed to appeal to the Supreme Court. He said he was confident that justice would prevail at the apex court and that the people of Ogun State would get their mandate back.