Osun: Aregbesola floors Omisore

Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal yesterday
dismissed the petition filed by Senator Iyiola Omisore, the
candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against the
victory of Mr. Rauf Aregbesola in the August 9, 2014,
governorship election in the state.
The tribunal led by the chairman, Justice Elizabeth Ikpejieme,
in a judgment, which lasted about seven hours ruled that the
petitioner failed to prove his case by not providing reliable
evidences.
The PDP candidate is challenging the election before the panel
in some units and wards in 17 local government councils of
the state.
Omisore and his party, PDP, alleged that the election was
characterised by irregularities and manipulation in favour of
APC and Aregbesola, thus, asking the tribunal to cancel the
election results in the affected local government areas.
He also prayed the tribunal to declare him winner of the
election, saying he had the majority credible votes, stressing
that the votes cast for Aregbesola and APC were not valid and
should be nullified.
The chairman of the tribunal in her judgment on the eligibility
of the petition ruled that the appellant failed when it did not
file his reply within the five days stipulated under the law.
The tribunal held that the five days the appellant had
commenced on the day they were served on October 9, 2014,
lapsed on October 13, saying the days under the law included
Sunday, which the appellant tried to exclude from the five
days.
She pointed out that the Appellants, having filed the reply on
October 14, fell foul of the law, noting that the law is settled
when it stated the method and dates to follow in filling reply.
On the issue of the Appellants abandoning their case, the
tribunal noted that for the purpose of fair hearing, the tribunal
would go on in delivering its judgment on the substantive
case.
Delivering judgment on the substantive suit, the tribunal held
that the petitioner failed to prove alleged harassment,
intimidation, molestation, over voting, voting by proxy,
inducement, improper accreditation, alteration of results,
irreconcilable figures in the local governments under review.
The tribunal also held that the evidence led by the petitioners
in Ayedaade Local Government Area, lacked any degree of
specificity and cannot be relied on by the tribunal as they
failed completely to prove any of the allegations.
The chairman held that for the petitioner not to have
satisfactorily proved his case in any of the 17 local
governments, the panel has no reason to void the election.
The tribunal therefore returned Mr. Rauf Aregbesola as the
duly elected governor in the election and dismissed the case
of the petitioner.