The Ondo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal on Wednesday upheld the election victory of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa in the November 16, 2024 poll, dismissing all five petitions filed against him as lacking merit and being speculative.
Delivering a unanimous judgment in Akure, the three-member panel led by Justice Benson Ogbu, with Justices Imelda Etiape and Daurabu Sikkam, held that the petitioners failed to prove allegations of over-voting and non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2022 beyond reasonable doubt.
The tribunal had received five petitions from various political parties and candidates, including the Action Alliance (AA), Social Democratic Party (SDP), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), and African Democratic Congress (ADC), all seeking to nullify Aiyedatiwa’s election on different grounds.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Aiyedatiwa, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), winner of the election. The respondents in the case included Aiyedatiwa, his running mate Olayide Adelami, APC, and INEC.
The tribunal ruled that the allegation of vote buying was not backed by any credible evidence. In the case of the AA, the tribunal held that the party lacked the locus standi to present a petition as it had no valid candidate in the election. It advised that the matter should have been taken to a High Court as a pre-election dispute.
On the APM petition, which cited corrupt practices, the tribunal struck it out for lacking material facts. Similarly, the SDP’s claims of over-voting and electoral malpractices were dismissed for lack of evidence. The tribunal noted that SDP failed to show any falsification of results or identify polling units where irregularities occurred.
For the PDP, the petition was based on three grounds: alleged fake academic qualifications of the deputy governor, non-compliance with electoral laws by INEC, and the claim that Aiyedatiwa did not score the lawful majority votes.
The tribunal dismissed the academic qualification allegation as a pre-election matter already settled by the Supreme Court. It also rejected PDP’s expert witness testimony due to lack of verifiable credentials and dismissed the claim of non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
In its verdict, the tribunal criticized the petitions as time-wasting and a misuse of public resources, emphasizing that elections are determined by facts and not public sentiment or propaganda.
All petitions were dismissed, and Aiyedatiwa’s victory was upheld without awarding costs to either party.
Alternate Titles:
- Aiyedatiwa Triumphs at Tribunal as All Petitions Are Dismissed
- Tribunal Affirms Ondo Governor’s Victory, Calls Petitions Baseless
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