Politics

Osun gov-elect assembles 52 lawyers for tribunal battle

Published

2 years ago

September 8, 2022

Osun State governor-elect, Ademola Adeleke

Osun State governor-elect, Ademola Adeleke, has assembled about 52 lawyers, including seven Senior Advocates of Nigeria, to defend his case at the Election Petition Tribunal in Osogbo, The PUNCH learnt on Wednesday.

Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, who contested the July 16 governorship election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, had asked the tribunal in Osogbo to nullify Adeleke’s election.

Adeleke was the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the election.

The PUNCH reported that Adeleke was returned elected by the Independent National Electoral Commission, after defeating his closest challenger, incumbent governor Oyetola, and 13 other candidates, scoring a total of 403, 371

Oyetola got 375, 027 votes and won in 13 Local Government Areas of the state to come second in the election.

Dr Alex Izinyon, Dr Paul Ananaba and Dr Onyeachi Ikpeazu are among the seven SANs defending Adeleke and other respondents.

READ ALSO:

While Izinyon would be leading another SAN and 16 other lawyers for the PDP, Ananaba would be representing INEC with two other SANs and 14 lawyers.

The PUNCH was also informed that Ikpeazu would be leading another SAN with no fewer than 10 other lawyers to defend Adeleke.

While INEC and the PDP have filed their defences, Adeleke had yet to file his defence. Ananaba and Izinyon confirmed to our correspondent that they have filed their preliminary objections, while Ikpeazu’s telephone line indicated that it was switched off when contacted for a response.

Izinyon, in an interview with The PUNCH, said he filed a defence two weeks ago with preliminary objection on 35 grounds.

He said, “We have already filed a defence about two weeks ago.

We are leading the team and we filed a preliminary objection on 35 grounds but the petition cannot be entertained even on a preliminary issue.

Among the issues that Adeleke is not qualified and the issue they raised about his high school is being determined by the Court of Appeal which we started.

“You cannot bring it in because it has been determined and we also raised several grounds against the competency of the petition itself; why it cannot see the light of day on the three so-called grounds that were filed. First was the issue of qualification, the other two were on majority lawful votes and non-compliance. We have dealt with that.

“The case should be dismissed for lacking in merit. They itemised 10 Local Government Areas where they said there were overvoting out of 31 LGAs. They have even shot themselves on the leg because if you look at the vote coming out from there and compare with what they have, they cannot make a case out of it based on the grounds relied upon.”

A member of Oyetola’s legal team, Kunle Adegoke (SAN), said Adeleke had not responded.

He said, “We are expecting Senator Ademola Adeleke to file a defence which he is yet to do. He avoided service for a long time before we got an order from the court to serve him by pasting it on the board of the court, which we did.

“Now that he has been served, I believe that he must be working on his defence too. Hopefully, very soon, he will. Then, when he files, we will make the necessary application to the tribunal to start the pre-hearing session.

“We filed on August 6 and he has not responded. It was about two weeks before we were able to serve him. He is just wasting time.”

Oyetola had, in his petition, said the election was fraught with certain irregularities, adding that Adeleke ought not to have been declared the winner as he was not qualified to have contested the election in the first place, having submitted a forged certificate to INEC.

Related Topics:gov-elect lawyers Osun tribunal

Up Next

LCCI to engage Tinubu, Atiku, Obi on economic blueprint

Don't Miss

Tinubu dismisses Atiku, Obi threats, insists no rift with Adamu

Politics

Senate in rowdy session as lawmakers quarrel over sitting arrangement

Published

1 day ago

April 30, 2024

Trends Admin

Senate in rowdy session as lawmakers quarrel over sitting arrangement

The Senate broke into a rowdy session on Tuesday after three senators engaged in a heated argument over arrangement of seats.

Danjuma Goje, senator representing Gombe Central, and Sahabi Yau, senator representing Zamfara North, expressed displeasure over the seats assigned to them.

They complained to Opeyemi Bamidele, the majority leader.

The Senate is currently using its refurbished chamber, two years after renovation began on it.

According to the standing rules of the upper legislative chamber, senators should sit in order of rank.

The Easter and Sallah recess was postponed to accommodate the completion of the renovation of both chambers of the national assembly.

However, while Senate President Godswill Akpabio read his welcome address, the heated argument among the three senators began.

It was learnt that Goje and Yau, sitting on the second row on the right side of the aisle, did not like the seats allocated to them by the senate committee on services.

Sunday Karimi, senator representing Kogi west, is chair of the senate services committee.

The four-term senators subsequently insisted that they should have been assigned seats on the front row on the extreme right — opposite the row of the majority leader and the deputy senate president.

After the argument, Kawu Sumaila, senator representing Kano South, called for a “point of order” which was ignored.

Thereafter, Bamidele moved a motion for a closed-session.

Politics

Ganduje drums support for Tinubu, says no vacancy in Aso Rock 2027

Published

1 day ago

April 30, 2024

Trends Admin

Ganduje drums support for Tinubu, says no vacancy in Aso Rock 2027

National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, says members of the opposition are trying to discredit the Bola Tinubu-led administration in their desperation for Aso Rock in 2027.
He however declares that there is no vacancy in Aso Rock in 2027.

Ganduje said the administration of President Tinubu had been contending with accumulation of many years of neglect, policy summersaults and other disjointed decisions by previous administrations.

The APC national chairman gave the position while addressing supporters and support groups at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja.

Ganduje urged the APC supporters and groups to be committed to the party so that it could continue to forge ahead.

He said the leadership of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and its chieftains were afraid, having been defeated in the last general election and already foreseeing another defeat.

Ganduje said the NNPP elements were now engaged in a propaganda campaign against the leadership of APC.

He said, “They are so afraid because we are consolidating. They are so afraid all over the country because we are receiving new entrants into our party. That is creating fears in their minds.

“They are already eyeing 2027, but at that time, there is no vacancy. Only our President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will, Insha Allah, continue as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Ganduje claimed the leadership of NNPP and its chieftains in Kano State were sponsoring protests and campaigning for his removal as APC national chairman.

Politics

Another PDP bigwig dumps party

Published

2 days ago

April 29, 2024

Trends Admin

Dr Cosmos Ndukwe

Another PDP bigwig dumps party

Dr Cosmos Ndukwe, one of the key opposition Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidates for 2023, has resigned from the party.

This is stated in a letter written by the former Deputy Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly to the Chairman of his Item C Ward in Bende Local Government Area, which was copied to the party’s State Chairman, Hon. Asiforo Okere, and the Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum.

The former Chief of Staff to the Governor and Commissioner for Works under ex-Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu claimed “personal reasons, current commitments, and aspirations” in his decision to leave the PDP.

He praised the party for providing him with the opportunity to enter the political spotlight and wished it success in the state.

The letter posted on his Facebook page on Monday morning read, “I hope this letter finds you well. It is with a heavy heart that I compose this correspondence to tender my resignation as a member and stakeholder in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Abia State, effective immediately.

“My decision to resign as a member within the party stems from personal reasons and reflections on my current commitments and aspirations.

“After careful consideration, I have come to the conclusion that potting out of PDP is the best course of action for me at this time.

“I am immensely grateful for the opportunities that the PDP has afforded me during my tenure as a Councillor, Deputy Chairman Local Government, Chief of Staff to Executive Governor of Abia State, Deputy Speaker Abia 6th House of Assembly and Presidential Aspirant PDP 2023.