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Olasunkanmi Akinlotan
Former Secretary of the Labour Party in Ogun state, Ogini Olaposi has told the election tribunal that he does not know the party’s governorship candidate on whose behalf he has approached the court.
Ogini has approached the court over the omission of the party’s logo from the ballot paper, the development the party has regarded as a fraudulent and an intentional act of the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The duo of the Party Chairman Com Abayomi Arabambi and Ogini has separately filled a petition marked EPT/OG/GOV/02/2019 and EPT/OG/GOV/03/2019 challenging the victory of the Candidate of the All Progressives Candidate (APC) Dapo Abiodun and the alleged illegality perpetrated by INEC by unlawfully removing the party logo from the ballot paper.
During their arguments Arabambi’s counsel, Hassan Balogun argued that the suit filed by the other group with the petition No: EPT/OG/GOV/02/2019 does not exist in the eye of the law adding that the case should be struck out since the said suit wasn’t properly filed as at when due.
He said ” As, at the last date of adjournment, the client of my learned counsel was yet to have fully paid his security deposit, until the 2nd April when they completed the payment, even when the date for which the petitioner should file shouldn’t exceed 21 days after the election was held.
“I pray that the said petition should be voided.
“There has never been a faction in the Ogun state Labour Party, the party is one in the state.
“In fact, the petition does not exist in the eye of the law because before this sitting today, there is only one petition before this Honourable tribunal in the eye of the law.
“Assuming without conceding that there are two petitions before this honourable court, I humbly rely on my earlier submission and I also want to further say that, since my learned friend filed his petition on the 2nd of April while we submitted ours on the 28th of March, ours should be saved while that of my learned colleague be struck out.
In his defence, Ogini’s counsel, Kehinde Ayanwale, begged the court not to entertain the claims of the claimant stressing that a case of faction should not arise in a tribunal, Hence, they should be sent back to the conventional court.
Ayanwale said, “The claims of my learned colleague should not be entertained in this honourable court because this is not a regular court where issues of factions should be treated even when it is still subjected to the court of appeal”.
The chairman of the three-man panel of the Tribunal, Justice Chinwe Onyeabor however adjourned for ruling till the 9th of April, 2019.