…Tension In Abiodun’s Camp Over Dissenting Judgement
… PDP, APC In Last Minutes Horse Race Lobbying
…Governance Grounded For Weeks Over Supreme Court Judgement
Daud Olatunji
Palpable tension has gripped leaders and members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun as the Apex Court gives a make-or-mar final judgment today, Friday, January 19, 2024.
In a high-stakes legal battle, the Apex Court is set to deliver a decisive judgment today, determining the fate of Ogun State’s political landscape.
The judgment follows 111 (one hundred and eleven) days of tension since the Tribunal’s initial decision on September 30,2023, which affirmed the victory of APC candidate and current governor, Dapo Abiodun, in the March 18, 2023 election, against the wishes of PDP’s Ladi Adebutu.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Abiodun of the APC winner, having polled a total of 276,298 votes to defeat his closest rival, Adebutu of the PDP, who garnered a total of 262,383 votes.
PLATFORM TIMES reliably gathered that both parties and their leaders have launched a horse race lobbying with a view to having the judgment in their favour.
PLATFORM TIMES gathered and observed that Abiodun and his aides relocated to Abuja some weeks back as part of last-minute moves ahead of the make-or-break judgment.
Political analysts view that the judgment will either make or mar the political career of Abiodun, who is seen as a businessman more than a politician.
Many analysts who shared their thoughts and preferred to remain anonymous said whichever way the judgment goes, it would have serious impacts on the further political ambition of Abiodun and his followers.
PLATFORM TIMES could not, however, confirm if Abiodun eventually got the ears of the presidency, as he was seen frequenting the Aso Rock.
The president’s camp, PLATFORM TIMES gathered, was not happy with Abiodun over his alleged role in the build-up to the emergence of the party presidential candidate ahead of the last election.
He was seen as one of the obstacles for President Bola Tinubu over his public endorsement of former Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, who later lost to Tinubu at the election-soaked primary.
Adebutu’s political career hangs in the balance, with Egba block gearing up for the 2027 elections.
Analysts believe that a loss at the Supreme Court could pose a serious setback for him and impact the ambitions of a senator in the state.
Adebutu’s victory at the Supreme Court was also seen as a setback for the ambition of a senator in the state who has been throwing money around and ready to pump money into the nooks and crannies of the state to get acceptance from both politicians and the voters.
PLATFORM TIMES’s investigation revealed that there was a sharp division between people on the likely outcome of the Supreme Court judgment.
Some believed that wherever the pendulum of the Supreme Court judgment swings, it is going to have a serious implication on the political architecture of the state.
…Governance Grounded Over Verdict
The political turmoil has taken a toll on governance in Ogun State, with the governor and his aides absent from their duty posts for weeks. Commissioners and appointees have been engaged in last-minute lobbying, leaving a void in the state’s administrative machinery.
PLATFORM TIMES observed that many commissioners and other appointees were nowhere to be found while making last-minute moves ahead of the judgment.
It was gathered that the governor had been shuttling between Abuja and Abeokuta for some weeks past, while some commissioners were not at their offices for their official duties.
Some workers in the state who spoke to PLATFORM TIMES on the condition of anonymity said almost all the commissioners and other appointees have been busy with last-minute lobbying ahead of the judgment.
It was also gathered that no major event had taken place some weeks back, as both the governor and his aides were not around for governance.
The Supreme Court last Thursday reserved judgment on an appeal that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Ladi Adebutu, filed to challenge the outcome of the governorship election held in Ogun State on March 18, 2023.
PLATFORM TIMES reports that the appeal prays for the removal of Governor Dapo Abiodun, who contested and was re-elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
A five-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Inyang Okoro, adjourned to deliver judgment on the electoral dispute after all the parties adopted their final briefs of argument on January 19, 2024.
Dissatisfied with the poll outcome, Adebutu approached the Ogun State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, insisting that he was the valid winner of the gubernatorial contest.
He alleged that the election was not conducted in substantial compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.
He also protested that the election was marred by irregularities and corrupt practices, claiming that over 40,000 voters from his strongholds were disenfranchised due to violence.
Adebutu claimed that he secured the highest number of valid votes cast at the election and therefore should have been declared the winner by INEC.
Specifically, he is challenging Abiodun’s re-election on the grounds that the Electoral Act, 2022 was not adhered to, citing corrupt practices and the issue of non-qualification.
However, Adebutu’s petition was dismissed by the Justice Hamidu Kunaza-led three-man tribunal, which affirmed Abiodun as the winner of the contest.
Adebutu, not satisfied with the Tribunal verdict, headed to the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal and also lost on November 24, 2023, in a split judgment of two to three.
The Majority Verdict
The appellate court, in its majority decision delivered by Justice Joseph Ikyegh, dismissed the appeal filed by Adebutu for lacking in merit. The two judges at the Appeal court said they found no reason to dislodge the judgment of the tribunal.
The Minority Verdict
But, in her minority verdict, Justice Jane Esienanwan Inyang said she saw merit in the petition and thereby ordered the INEC to withdraw the certificate of return presented to Abiodun and conduct another election in 99 polling units where elections were disrupted within 90 days, conduct a fresh election in some polling units in the state.
Abiodun, Adebutu, INEC Head To Supreme Court
Adebutu approached the Supreme Court to challenge the majority judgment of the appellate court.
Abiodun also lodged a cross-appeal to set aside the minority verdict that ordered the fresh election.
INEC equally lodged a cross-appeal, praying to the Supreme Court to validate the result of the election that it earlier announced.
Abiodun, INEC Lose Out At Supreme Court
The apex court five-man panel led by Justice John Inyang Okoro, last week Thursday, declined hearing the cross-appeals filed by the APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission, insisting that it abides by the outcome of the main appeal filed by Adebutu.
Efforts by Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN to move the cross-appeals were refused by the panel as the panel held that the main appeal covers it.
Content Of The Case Before Supreme Court
While adopting his brief of argument, Adebutu’s lawyer, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, told the apex court that INEC was ordered to conduct a fresh poll in 99 polling units where results were either cancelled or the election did not hold at all.
He said the return of the governor by INEC was unlawful, and the election was wrongly concluded because corrupt practices were allegedly manifest during the March 18 governorship poll.
He argued that in view of the number of units affected, it was wrong for INEC to declare and return Abiodun of the APC as the winner of the gubernatorial contest.
On its part, INEC, through its team of lawyers led by Mr. Abiodun Owonikoko, SAN, urged the apex court to dismiss Adebutu’s appeal as lacking in merit.
INEC’s lawyer maintained that governorship and presidential elections were not determined by the margin of lead but by the spread of votes, in line with the provision of Section 179 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
In his submission, Governor Dapo Abiodun’s counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, urged the apex court to dismiss the appeal, which challenges concurrent decisions of the two lower courts and affirm the return of his client as the authentic winner of the election.
The five-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Inyang Okoro, had adjourned to deliver judgment on the electoral dispute after all the parties adopted their final briefs of argument today, January 19, 2024.
…PDP Expresses Hope Over Minority Judgment
The opposition party has expressed “hope and satisfaction” over the Appeal Court minority judgment on the March 18 governorship election.
In a statement by the PDP spokesperson in the State, Akinloye Bankole, the party said, “we are particularly satisfied that the cause of true justice in reclaiming the mandate freely given to the PDP by the good people of Ogun state, which is currently held in proxy by the APC and its candidate, Prince Dapo Abiodun, is achievable after all.
The PDP appreciated the fact that the appeal court “looked at the inherent merits of our petition, unlike the Election Petition Tribunal which took all the time in the world only to dwell on mere technicalities to rubbish and kill our fervent desire to rescue our darling state from the claws of the APC through a democratic electoral contest.”
The opposition party expressed gladness that the judgment of the appellate court has restored Adebutu’s hope “by resolving some technical issues contained in the tribunal judgment in our favor.”
Bankole stated: “Importantly, our words of eternal gratitude especially go to Hon. Justice Jane Inyang for her outstanding courage and uncommon boldness in delivering her minority judgment that was well articulated in clear details.
“In clear terms and without any ambiguity, Justice Inyang, in her detailed judgment, sacked Mr. Abiodun from the exalted office of the governor of Ogun State and also pronounced that his Certificate of Return be withdrawn immediately and ordered INEC to conduct a rerun election within 90 days in the affected 99 polling units where the election was canceled due to violence and election malpractices during the March 18th Governorship election.”
The PDP described as laughable a call by Gov Abiodun that Adebutu should join his government in serving the state, saying, “What an insult!”
The party reminded Abiodun “that the current victory he enjoys is pyrrhic. He must, therefore, learn to drink and dance with serious caution; his joy cannot stand the test of the law as the battle continues at the highest court of our land.
“Neither Hon. Adebutu nor any sane mind would join hands” with the APC in Ogun State.
“For us, we shall continue to appreciate all members of our great party, our teeming and unrepentant supporters, and indeed, the good people of Ogun for their continued support and trust in our cause as we take the battle to the highest level of judicial intervention. We must not despair; not now, not ever.”
As the Supreme Court’s decision looms, uncertainty prevails, with differing opinions on the potential implications for Ogun State’s political architecture.
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