Lagos Election Tribunal reserves judgment in Jandor, Rhodes-Vivour petitions against Sanwo-Olu

Lagos Election Petition Tribunal, Saturday, reserved judgment in the petitions filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Abdulazeez Adeniran (Jandor), and that of Mr Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, flagbearer of the Labour Party (LP) against the re-election of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and his deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The petitioners are challenging the declaration of the APC candidates in the March 18 governorship election conducted in the state as re-elected by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The three-man tribunal led by Justice Arum Ashom, in its decision said it would communicate the date for the judgment to the parties in the petition after counsels to the petitioners and respondents had adopted final written addresses.

While Labour Party’s Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour is the sole petitioner in his petition, Alhaji Abdulazeez Adeniran has the PDP as co-petitioner.

The respondents have INEC as the first, while Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat are the second and third, just as the APC is the fourth respondent in the petition.

The two petitioners, Rhodes-Vivour and Jandor were absent in court, Saturday, however, Deputy Governor Hamzat was present.

It would be recalled that Rhodes-Vivour, had on July 4 closed his case at the tribunal sitting in Ikeja in which he is also seeking the disqualification of Hazmat for being in eligible to contest on the grounds that he allegedly renounced his Nigerian citizenship and swore allegiance to the United States of America.

Rhodes-Vivour’s counsel, Mr Idowu Benson, informed the three-justice tribunal that the petitioner was closing his case.

Ten witnesses had testified in the petition of the LP candidate.

The counsel also tendered a Certified True Copy (CTC) of the INEC Form EC9 – an affidavit containing the particulars of a candidate – which was hand-filled by Hamzat and had been front-loaded by the counsel for the fourth respondent, All Progressives Congress (APC), before the tribunal.

All the counsel for the four respondents objected to the admissibility of the document tendered by the petitioner.

The tribunal, however, admitted the document into evidence and marked it as Exhibit PE713.

The tribunal subsequently adjourned until July 5 for INEC to open its defence.

At the resumed hearing, Saturday, Sanwo-Olu’s counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), while adopting his final written address, asked the court to dismiss the petitions for lack of merit.

He described the petitions as an academic exercise.

He said that there was no reference to the second respondent in the addresses of the petitioners, adding that the addresses dwelt on the third respondent.

“They have abandoned their petitions and also abandoned any issues against the second respondent.”

He said that non-qualification of the deputy governor for the election as claimed by Rhodes-Vivour had no substance.

Olanipekun argued that the allegation of Hamzat’s renunciation of Nigerian citizenship and swearing to oath of allegiance to the U.S. were not sufficiently proven.

Similarly, counsel to APC, Mr Abiodun Owonikoko (SAN), submitted that the argument about Hamzat’s citizenship was not duly proven by the petitioners.

Counsel to INEC, Mr Charles Edosonwan (SAN), in adopting his final written address, asked the Tribunal to dismiss the petitions for lack of evidence.

“One of the issues raised by the petitioners is whether the election was conducted in substantial compliance with the Electoral Act.

“We say that they have provided no scintilla of proof to show it wasn’t.

“A petition erected on such an allegation was sought to be proven by 10 witnesses in a state that has 13,325 polling units.

“The petition is materially challenged,” Edosonwan said.

Counsel to LP and its Governorship Candidate, Mr Benson, asked the tribunal to uphold the position of his clients that Hamzat did not qualify to contest the election, as he prayed it to remove Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat from office and declare Rhodes-Vivour the governor of Lagos State.

Also adopting his final written address, counsel to the PDP, Mr Clement Onwuenwunor, argued that Sanwo-Olu did not have a secondary school leaving certificate and, therefore, was not qualified to be governor.