Tribunal upholds Seyi Makinde’s re-election as Oyo governor

The governorship election petition tribunal in Ibadan, Oyo, has upheld the re-election of Seyi Makinde as the governor of the state.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Makinde, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as the winner of the election held on March 18.

He secured 563,756 votes to win in 31 of the 33 LGAs in the state while Teslim Folarin of the All Progressives Congress (APC) came second with 256,685 votes.

Adebayo Adelabu of the Accord Party came a distant third with 38,357 votes.

But Babatunde Ajala, governorship candidate of the Action Alliance (AA), had challenged Makinde’s victory. 

In his petition, INEC was named as the first respondent while Makinde and the PDP were the second and third respondents respectively.

Delivering the judgment on Friday, a three-member panel, led by Ejiron Emudainohwo, dismissed Ajala’s petition.

The tribunal also awarded a cost of N600,000 against the AA guber candidate – N100,000 in favour of INEC and N250,000 each in favour of Makinde and the PDP respectively.

Prior to the ruling, Etibo Orowo King, counsel to Ajala, had told the tribunal that the party and its candidate had decided to discontinue the case.

“My prayer is for the cancellation of the result of the election. But, on further reevaluation, we decided to discontinue the case in the interest of peace and tranquillity,” he said.

But Kunle Kalejaiye, counsel to Makinde; and Isiaka Olagunju, lawyer to the PDP, urged the tribunal to dismiss the case.

“The petitioner asked that the case be struck out. We want the case to be dismissed. It is a petition that is dead on arrival,” Kalejaiye said.