IPAC, CSO Hail Tribunal’s Verdict on Ogun 2023 Governorship Poll

James Sowole in Abeokuta

The Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) yesterday hailed the judgment of the Ogun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which affirmed the return of the State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, as  the winner of the March 18,1023 poll.

The IPAC described the verdict of the three-man panel as victory for democracy, which must be embraced by all peace and progress loving people and all stakeholders of the state.

IPAC’s position was expressed at a news conference addressed by leaders of the advisory council, in Abeokuta, the state capital.

Addressing journalists, the Chairman of IPAC, Ogun State, Mr. Samson Okusanya, slammed a group, that described  the judgment as a charade as faceless and political neophyte.

Okusanya, also described the statement credited to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after the judgment, which discredited the verdict, as docile and out of crass ignorance from political merchants.

Okusanya said contrary to the claims made by  the PDP’s candidate, Ladi Adebutu and his team of lawyers that the verdict of the tribunal was based on technicalities, the rulings were predicated on fairness and objectivity on the point of law.

He said, “Ogun State IPAC  wouldn’t have dignified this beer parlour publication laced with deliberate falsehood or considered it necessary to react to such an epistle of personal bitterness, ignorance and complete unintelligent outburst from those political traders, buccaneers, scavengers, emergency democrats, political predators, misfits and pedestrian politicians, but for the benefit of the few in the public who may innocently be misinformed by this ethically rusty and morally depraved social misfit and miscreants.

“We find their arguments empty and blind, where they claimed they were perplexed by the Tribunal’s reliance on technicalities involving procedural issues and semantics of the interpretation of words over the substance and core realities of the case.

“Ladi Adebutu and his team of lawyers ought to have known that law and facts are not based on technicalities but rather on fairness and objectivity of the legal process which stipulates that the petitioner ought to have front-loaded certain information in the petition.”

He added: “Or did our laws not state emphatically that ‘he who alleges must prove?

“The tribunal’s verdict on Ladi Adebutu’s petition clearly revealed that the petition contained so many procedural flaws with antecedents’ interpretation of words. The subsequent dismissal of the substantive suits is therefore right in the eyes of the law.”

It, therefore, commended members of the panel for treating the petitions on their merits and with analytical minds, saying the verdict was a watershed and point of reference, even as it called on other political parties to join hands with Governor Dapo Abiodun to move the State to enviable heights.

In a related development, a civil society organisation, the Advocacy for Peace and Good Governance, has commended the Ogun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal for its verdict on the March 18, governorship election in the State.

The group stated that the verdict was a victory for democracy and affirmation of the people’s choice.

The group, in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Waheed Sulaimon, in Abuja, described  the judgement as explicit without any  ambiguity,  saying  it was a  true reflection of what happened across Ogun State on March 18, 2023.

The group noted that the tribunal delivered its verdict based on the facts and evidence presented before it, as well as the credibility of the electoral process.