The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Monday struck out the vote-buying allegation, levelled against Governor Dapo Abiodun and the All Progressives Congress (APC) by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Ladi Adebutu.
Adebutu had dragged Governor Abiodun and the APC to the tribunal challenging their declaration as the winner of the 18, March 2023 governorship election in the state.
However, the governor’s lawyers, led by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), in their defence to the petition, made weighty allegations backed up with police report, establishing that Adebutu and the PDP engaged in vote buying during the elections.
On 22 May, 2023, Adebutu and the PDP filed a reply to the defence by Governor Abiodun and the APC, also levelling vote-buying allegation against the ruling party.
The Governor’s lawyers, represented by Prof. Taiwo Osipitan (SAN), however, filed an application asking the Tribunal to strike out the Reply in its entirety or in the alternative, to strike out offending paragraphs from that Reply.
Osipitan argued that the Reply filed by Adebutu and PDP contravenes paragraph 16(1) (a & b) of the Electoral Act and the rules of court pleadings.
While ruling on the matter, the Chairman of the Tribunal, Justice H.N. Kunaza, agreed with the submissions by Prof. Osipitan
In the ruling, supported by the other two members; Hon. Justice J.B. Egele and Hon. Justice Sannusi Shehu, the Tribunal overruled Adebutu’s lawyers, led by Chief Goddy Uche (SAN), saying that the application filed by the Governor’s lawyers was not the kind of application that the Constitution requires to be determined at the end of proceedings in judgment.
The Tribunal further added that in their petition, Adebutu and PDP alleged that Governor Abiodun and APC committed corrupt practices during the gubernatorial elections. The Tribunal further noted that vote buying is a specie of corruption and that if PDP and Adebutu truly believed that APC engaged in vote buying, the petitioner ought to have included those allegations in their petition from the start, which they did not do.
