The Ondo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Akure has dismissed all petitions challenging the election of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa as the winner of the 16 November 2024 governorship election in the state.
DAILY POST reports that the three-member panel led by Justice Benson Ogubu declared petitions by five opposition parties—Action Alliance, AA; Peoples Democratic Party, PDP; Social Democratic Party, SDP; African Democratic Congress, ADC and the Allied People’s Movement, APM;—as worthless and baseless.
The candidate of the PDP, Alfred Agboola Ajayi, had challenged the qualification of Aiyedatiwa’s deputy, alleging he forged the West African Examinations Council, WAEC, certificate submitted to INEC.
They cited inconsistencies with three different names appearing, with the petitioners arguing that it ought to have invalidated the APC ticket, consequently affecting the governor’s victory.
PDP, which also alleged widespread violation of Section 73(2) of the Electoral Act, 2022, contended that in 3,834 polling units (97 per cent of the state’s 3,933 units), Form EC25B was not properly completed.
Delivering the judgment, the tribunal tribunal expunged the aspects of certificate forgery from the petition on the grounds that the case had been decided at the Federal High Court, Appeal, and the Supreme Court.
The panel further observed that the allegations of non-qualification was a pre-election matter.
The tribunal held that Form EC25B referred to by the petitioner, never prescribed the entering of serial numbers. It said what is necessary is the quantity of the papers. It said there was no way the court would dabble in documents that were not identified and demonstrated by the petitioner.
The tribunal also dismissed claims of over-voting as it ruled that the petitioners failed to prove the allegation, as none of their witnesses tendered related data necessary to substantiate the claim.
