Lagos State governorship election tribunal upholds PDP’s petition challenging Sanwo-Olu’s victory
In a significant development, the Lagos State Governorship Election Tribunal has ruled in favor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), dismissing the preliminary objection raised by the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The objection sought to have the PDP’s petition against Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s victory in the March 18, 2023, governorship election dismissed.
The tribunal’s decision to dismiss the objection was primarily based on the petitioner’s failure to comply with the Electoral Act regarding the payment of security costs. Justice Mikail Abdullahi, a member of the tribunal’s panel, announced the ruling after considering preliminary motions challenging various aspects of the petition.
The PDP’s governorship candidate, Olajide Adediran (popularly known as Jandor), and the Labour Party’s candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, have been contesting the outcome of the election, which saw Sanwo-Olu declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Notably, Sanwo-Olu secured a landslide victory in the election, defeating Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party and Adediran of the PDP. Sanwo-Olu garnered 762,134 votes, while Rhodes-Vivour received 312,329 votes, with Jandor polling 62,449 votes.
Adediran’s petition against Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat, the APC, and Rhodes-Vivour, the LP, alleged that these candidates were not qualified to contest the election. Additionally, it called for the disqualification of the APC and LP candidates for non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2022 and INEC guidelines.
Despite the APC’s efforts to strike out the PDP’s petition, the tribunal’s decision allows the PDP to continue its challenge against the election results. Some paragraphs of the petition and additional statements on oath were struck out, but the core petition remains intact.
Furthermore, the Labour Party’s petition to have its name removed from the PDP’s petition was successful, marking a notable turn of events in the ongoing legal battle.
