Obi, LP Tender Documents from Six States to Prove Petition against Tinubu

*Lagos guber poll: Tribunal rules

on applications challenging jurisdiction, competency of  LP’s petition today

Alex Enumah in Abuja, Wale Igbintade and Stephen Aya in Lagos

Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the February 25 presidential election, Mr Peter Obi, and his party, yesterday, tendered documents from six states of the federation to prove their petitions against the election of President Bola Tinubu.

The petitioners at the resumed hearing disclosed that they were challenging the election results in only 18 states of the federation, including Rivers, Benue, Cross River, Niger, Osun, and Ekiti.

In another breath, the Lagos Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, has fixed today (Friday) to rule on various applications challenging competency of the petition filed by the Labour Party’s (LP) candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, seeking to nullify the election of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat in the March 18 election.

Obi and LP had anchored their petitions on grounds that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) violated its own regulations and guidelines in addition to manipulating the process in favour of Tinubu and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The documents, mainly Forms EC8A, which were election results from polling units were admitted and marked accordingly as exhibits by the Justice Haruna Tsammani five member panel of the Presidential Election Petition Court ( PREPEC).

For Rivers State, the petitioners tendered EC8As from 15 LGAs instead of the initial 21 LGAs that was listed, while the results sheets from polling units in 23 LGAs was tendered from Benue State.

In Cross River State, 18 EC8A results were also admitted and marked as Exhibits, while 23 in Niger State, 20 in Osun and 16 in Ekiti Local Government Areas, were also admitted in evidence.

Interestingly, INEC which issued the documents and certified them as genuine, joined other respondents to object to the admissibility of the said documents.

The other respondents were President Tinubu, his Vice, Kashim Shetima and the APC. Hearing continues today, June 2.

However, from Lagos, the Tribunal is also set to rule on whether it has jurisdiction to entertain the application filed by the Labour Party’s (LP).

The chairman of the tribunal, Justice Arum Igyen Ashom fixed the date after taking submissions from counsel in the matter. Other members of the tribunal were Justice Mikail Abdullahi and Justice I.P. Braimoh.

The Petitioner, Rhodes-Vivour, was seeking an order of the tribunal nullifying the election of Sanwo-Olu and his deputy, Hamzat, on grounds that they were not qualified to contest the March 18 election.

Besides, he asked the Tribunal to disqualify the governor for alleged non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2022 and the guidelines of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC and to declare him winner of the election.

Rhodes-Vivour further prayed the Tribunal to hold that the governor was not duly elected by a majority of the lawful votes cast at the election.

The Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC), Sanwo-Olu, Hamzat and the All Progressives Congress (APC) were 1st to 4th respondents in the petition.

During proceedings, counsel to the petitioner, Dr Olumide Ayeni (SAN), sought leave of the Tribunal to argue two out of nine applications, which he said were ripe for hearing.

He said one application dated May 26, 2023 was seeking two prayers including leave to file list of additional witnesses while the second one sought consolidation of their applications with that of Olajide Adediran of the PDP.

He submitted that the two applications  were ripe for hearing, but that counsel to 2nd and 3rd respondents, Dr Muiz Banire (SAN) and Bode Olanipeku (SAN) filed motion on notice asking the Tribunal to strike them out and reject the applications and for it to be regarded as their response to the application of the petitioner.

He urged the Tribunal to take all applications and their responses together so that all matters could be dealt with expeditiously.

But counsel to the respondents, in their separate submissions, urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition of the petitioner for being incompetent and for lack of jurisdiction.

Counsel to 1st respondent, Dr Charles Edosomwan (SAN) told the tribunal that they filed counter affidavit and written addresses in opposition to the two applications and written addresses  filed by the petitioner .

Dr. Edosomwan argued that the 1st Respondent filed counter affidavit and written address dated May 22, 2023 against the petitioner, and further told the tribunal that their application dated May 19 and filed May 22 for sundry prayers including pre-trial hearing and striking out of some paragraphs in the petition of the petitioner on certain grounds.

Banire, in his submissions, informed the tribunal that the 2nd and 3rd respondents  filed application dated May 30 in opposition to the motion for consolidation of applications by the petitioner, and that they filed a motion on notice dated May 31 in response to petitioners application.

He said they have three pending applications, in  which they were requesting the tribunal to strike out the petitioner’s application on ground of incompetency and lack of jurisdiction. He also argued that the second application has four paragraphs seeking an order striking out all the averments and list of additional witnesses in the petitioner’s application.

Banire said their prayer was to ask the tribunal to halt the proceedings in the matter until petitioners ensure due compliance with  relevant provisions of the Electoral Act.

Counsel to 4th Respondent, Norrison Quakers (SAN) informed the tribunal that they had filed counter affidavits to all the applications filed by the petitioner along with supportive affidavits and written addresses.

Ayeni said all applications were ripe for hearing except the one asking for leave to join additional witnesses, and drew attention of the tribunal to the fact that one of the witnesses, who the petitioner wanted to add was the candidate of the PDP, Olajide Adediran a.k.a Jandor .

After taking all submissions,  the tribunal chairman, Ashom adjourned for ruling today on issues raised by counsels.