Ekiti State Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Ado-Ekiti on Thursday struck out the petition filed by the candidate of the Social Democratic Party in the 18 June, 2022 Governorship election, Segun Oni , against the victory of Governor Biodun Oyebanji.
The Court ruled that the Candidate of the APC, Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji was Validly Nominated and fulfilled all the necessary requirements of the law, adding that Mai Mala Buni is a sitting Governor who cannot be tried as he enjoys immunity.
On the allegation by the petitioner that Mrs. Monisade Afuye, presented fake WAEC result to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Relying on Section 136 of the Evidence Act placed the burden of proof on Mrs. Afuye to defend herself, the tribunal held that Oni had no verifiable proof .
The tribunal held that Oni and SDP failed to succinctly discharge the burden of proof ofto convince the tribunal that the election did not comply with the provisions of the Electoral Act and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended.
The Justice Wilfred Kpochi-led three-man tribunal delivered the verdict and dismissed all the grounds of the SDP candidate’s petition for lacking in merit
while describing them as generic in nature, vague, nebulous, imprecise and lack specificity.
Segun Oni had on 7th of July, 2022 approached the tribunal seeking the nullification of Oyebanji as the winner of the election citing irregularities on his nomination as the All Progressives Congress candidate for the election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission had declared Oyebanji winner of the election having polled
a total of 187,057 to defeat Oni, who garnered 82,211votes.
Oni and the SDP were the 1st and 2nd Petitioners in the case, while the respondents were Oyebanji (1st), the APC (2nd), Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni, in his capacity as the Chairman of the APC Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (3rd), INEC (4th) and the Deputy Governor, Mrs Monisade Afuye (5th).
In the petition, Oni through his Lead Counsel, Owoseeni Ajayi, told the tribunal that the APC had no candidate in the June 18 Ekiti Governorship election on account of the fact that the primary that produced him was invalid. But the tribunal ruled that the Candidate of the APC Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji was Validly Nominated.
He based this on the fact that the Chairman of the APC National Caretaker Committee and Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, who conducted the primary, was wrongly and illegally appointed to act in that position.
Oni said that Buni, who signed the nomination form for Oyebanji , and who also superintended over the APC governorship primaries, contravened Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution by accepting to be the APC National Caretaker Chairman.
According to Oni, Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution stated explicitly that “a sitting Governor shall not accept any other executive position while in office.”
One of the grounds of the petition which was based on the issue of nomination of Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji as the candidate of the APC was also struck out as the court said the matter raised in the petition was an issue of internal affairs and management of a political party which the tribunal has no jurisdiction to entertain.
The tribunal held that Biodun Oyebanji and her Deputy, Monisade Afuye were duly nominated and sponsored by the APC in line with Section 177 of the Constitution and Section 31 of the Electoral Act.
It ruled, “The tribunal cannot determine whether Mai Bala Buni, the Governor of Yobe State is illegally occupying the seat of caretaker chairman of the planning committee of the extraordinary convention of the APC.
The Court held that the allegation is inconsistent, frivolous and lacking in merit
lead counsel to SDP and Segun Oni, Owoseeni Ajayi vowed to challenge the pronouncement of the tribunal at the appellate court.
Saying, there are grounds the three man jurists failed to address