Declare me winner of Ogun governorship election, Adebutu tells tribunal

By Kolawole Olayinka, Abeokuta

Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the March 18 governorship election in Ogun State, Oladipupo Adebutu, has submitted a petition before the Election Petition Tribunal, challenging the victory of Governor Dapo Abiodun at the poll.

In the petition, Adebutu is seeking the tribunal’s order declaring him as the winner of the election.
The PDP governorship candidate, who expressed dissatisfaction with the declaration, was at the Tribunal secretariat at Isabo Magistrates Court premises in Abeokuta alongside a member of his legal team, Chief Gordy Uche, SAN, and party chieftains to officially file the petition.

With Adebutu and the PDP as first and second petitioners, the INEC, Abiodun and the APC were respectively marked as the first, second and third respondents.

Addressing newsmen shortly after filing the petition, Adebutu explained that he would continue to sought his mandate within the ambit of the law.

Giving details of the petitions, Uche said it was filed on four grounds.

He said: “We have up to four grounds, very solid ones, but it will be sweeter when our opponent tell you the grounds.

“We have about three senior advocates on our team and a host of many other lawyers and many of them are lawyers who are not just because they are being paid, but because of the fact that they believe that the mandate was stolen and they also believe this mandate can be retrieved.

“Our prayers are just that the right thing is done and the man who won is given the mantle of office.”
Some of the prayers put forward by the aggrieved party including a declaration that the petitioner “won the highest number of valid votes cast at the election and satisfied the requirements of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and ought to be returned and is returned as the winner of the Governorship election held in Ogun state on 18th March 2023.”

And in alternative, the petitioner prayed for an order of the Tribunal “directing 1st Respondent to conduct fresh election in the 99 polling units which cut across 41 wards and 16 Local Government Areas of Ogun State where elections were either not held and/or cancelled due to disruption and over-voting.”