The Lagos State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal received a petition from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Dr. Abdul-Azeez Adediran (Jandor).
The party and Adediran want the APC and LP candidates disqualified for violating the Election Act 2022.
The petitioners disputed the March 18 gubernatorial election’s results in the April 7 EPT/LAG/GOV/01/2023 petition, alleging severe non-compliance with the Election Law and INEC instructions (INEC).
INEC is the first respondent, followed by Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, his Deputy Governorship candidate, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, the All Progressive Congress (APC), the Labour Party Governorship Candidate, Mr. Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, and the Labour Party.
Adediran and PDP also allege in their appeal that Sanwo-Olu, Hamzat, and Rhodes-Vivour were ineligible to run in the March 18, 2023, gubernatorial election.
Hence, the petitioners requested that their election votes be nullified.
“The 2nd and 3rd Respondents, although not duly sponsored and not qualified, contested along with the 1st Petitioner and others for the office of Governor of Lagos State, the subject matter of this Petition.
“Similarly, the 5th and 6th Respondents, although not duly sponsored and not qualified, contested along with the 1st Petitioner and others for the office of Governor of Lagos State, the subject matter of this Petition.
“The 1st Respondent, upon the conclusion of the Election, declared the 2nd Respondent who was not properly sponsored by the 4th Respondent as the winner of the Election to the office of Governor of Lagos State.
“The 5th Respondent who was similarly not properly sponsored by the 6th Respondent, was declared by the 1st Respondent as having scored the second highest number of votes at the Election to the office of Governor of Lagos State,” the petition read in part.
The petitioners claimed that four reasons of non-compliance warranted disqualification of Sanwo-Olu and INEC’s election winner Hamzat.
Adediran and PDP claimed that Rhodes-Vivour, who received the second-highest number of votes, should be disqualified on four further grounds of non-compliance.
The petitioners claimed that APC violated the INEC Time Table and Schedule of Activities for the 2023 General Election, which required political parties to notify INEC 21 days before the primary election.
They noted that the political party’s national headquarters and National Chairman and Secretary must issue such notification.
“Contrary to this provision, the Lagos state chapter of the APC through her letter dated 24th May 2022 notified the State Resident Electoral Commissioner of the party primary election held on 26th May 2022., with details of venue of the said primary.
“The notification from the state chapter of APC was therefore invalid, null and void according to the Electoral Act 2022,” it read in part.
The petitioners further claimed that the APC failed to comply with the Electoral Act 2022’s provision that political parties supporting candidates in the general election must submit their nomination papers in forms EC9 180 days before the election.
The petitioners further noted the lack of the Oath page in Form EC9 for the 3rd respondent, Hamzat, which would have showed that it was not validated by the Commissioner for Oath within the period specified by the Election Law 2022 and rendered the form and its information useless.
Adediran and PDP said that Sanwo-Olu neglected to submit a copy of his 1981 GCE O’Level result to his form EC9 as required by the Electoral Act 2022.
The petition read in part: “This development sparked a curiosity, with Adediran and PDP applying for the CTC of Governor Sanwo-Olu 2019 from CF001.
“It was then discovered that a Statement of Result issued by Ijebu Ife Community Grammar School, Ijebu-Ife for May/June 1981 GCE O’ Level Examination with examination number 17624/118 which he submitted for his first term election as governor of the state was not confirmed by WAEC.
“When JANDOR and PDP approached WAEC for confirmation, they were directed to purchase the scratch card for verification of WAEC result scratch card, which then confirmed the results as not emanating from WAEC, it came back to be a fake result.”
The petitioners also disqualified Rhodes-gubernatorial Vivour’s candidate for failing to comply with the Election Law in the party’s primary election.
Adediran and PDP claimed that the state chapter of LP issued the primary election notification instead of the National Chairman and Secretary.
The petitioners further claimed that the LP employed Statutory Delegates from the Lagos State EXCO/Caretaker Committee in her substitute primary election on Aug. 10, 2022, in violation of the Election Act 2022.
The petitioners further showed that Rhodes-Form Vivour’s EC9 was signed under oath and submitted to INEC on July 4, 2022, 37 days before the Labour Party’s substitute primary election on August 10, 2022, which elected him.
It further read: “This makes his nomination invalid. Rhodes-Vivour claimed in oath to have joined the Labour Party on June 18, 2022, while still a PDP member.
The appeal submitted documentary proof and a media article of his involvement in the screening procedure for the running mate of Lagos PDP gubernatorial candidate Dr. Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran (JANDOR) on June 22, 2022.
“In line with the provision of the Electoral Act, the candidate for the office of Governor of Lagos State is not allowed to be a member of more than one political party at the time of being sponsored as a candidate for the general election, therefore his nomination is invalid.”
Adediran and PDP asked the Electoral Petition Tribunal to declare all APC and Labour Party votes in the March 18 guber election worthless as their candidates were ineligible.
The petitioners stated that Adediran (Jandor) of the PDP was the lawfully qualified candidate to win the election as PDP received the third-highest number of votes and met the Election Act 2022 requirements.
Sanwo-Olu won Saturday’s poll over 15 other party candidates.
Sanwo-Olu defeated Labour Party candidate Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour with 762,134 votes.
Adediran, the third-place PDP candidate, received 62,449 votes.
