The Supreme Court judgment which affirmed the election of Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, will serve as judicial precedent or guidance for election-related matters in Nigeria including those currently at the Presidential Election Petition Court, Barrister Omalade Matthew Koledolapo told THE WHISTLER on Tuesday.
The doctrine of judicial precedent is a pattern in law whereby judges follow previously decided cases of higher courts particularly where the facts are similar.
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The apex court held in the case between former Osun State, Adegboyega Oyetola and Adeleke that the former’s claim that over-voting occurred in 744 polling units in the state could only be proved using evidence from the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS machine, voters register and INEC’s Form EC8.
“It is glaring that the appellant did not provide in evidence, any BVAS, but sought to prove over-voting by means of a report of examination of INEC’s database or backend server.
“In the light of the foregoing, I hold that it is the record in the BVAS machine of the accredited voters or a certified true copy of an INEC certificate of that record for each polling unit that can prove the number of accredited voters in a polling unit on the day of the election and nothing else,” the court held on Tuesday while upholding Adeleke’s victory.
Reacting after the court rose, Koledolapo told THE WHISTLER that because the rules of court deal with judicial precedent, today’s Supreme Court verdict is a “starting point in our electoral process.”
He said it will serve as a precedent on subsequent election-related matters in Nigeria.
“Of course, the presidential election petitions will end at the Supreme Court,” Koledolapo said.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has described the Supreme Court judgment on Adeleke as “the final decision”.
“Let me also recognize and acknowledge the important role of the judiciary in deepening rule of law and democracy in Nigeria,” Buhari tweeted on Tuesday.
ARE YOU THE LEADER OF APC IN RIVERS STATE? (A journalist asked CHIEF TONY OKOCHA during a press briefing in Portharcourt)
Is no longer news that the APC in Rivers State formerly lead by the fmr Minister transportation is in tatters, broken, flattened, and members totally and outrightly depressed, in addition a court injunction restraining the state chairman and Co, “to pepper them” as well.
Infact, it seems that the fmr Minister has reached his political pinnacle and a sudden fall off the cliff is expected, his body language, press interviews, particularly asking his followers to vote Atiku for president and he immediately asserted to it by raising issues about the INEC chairman on election day, are one of his greatest undoing. It’s clear he has boxed himself in irreversibly and can only realign to another party, for now they will be in political wilderness, little wonder Gov Wike is poaching them.
From the day he was outwitted by forces in PDP led by Gov. Wike, then a Minister in 2014, he quickly switched to the APC with his supporters, took all the structures to himself in disregard of agreement to share 70% and 30% to Legacy members in Rivers State APC structure.
The former minister moved like a bull in a china shop, with garrison command style (oga say) political ideology reminisce of his Peter Odili political kindred, where anointing oil was all you required for relevance, even if you were a deaf and dumb.
The fmr Minister quickly suspended most prominent leaders across the local government areas and appointed “YESMEN” as leaders, not minding their antecedents, as long as you will not question him, just obey orders you are a qualified leader of your area.
There was fire on the mountain, Senator Magnus Abe went to court, moved with a lot of his followers which resulted in APC not been on ballot in 2019 general election in Rivers State and it lingered up till 2023 and grossly divided the party.
The APC lead by Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi was beaten black and blue in every election and most recently, cannot boast of a house of assembly member in River State House of Assembly in the last election.
While building structures at home with strange bedfellows, he also embarked on a journey of political misadventure in Abuja, to control the party built by other people, like wanting to claim a house whose landlord is alive. The delusion started with the successful removal of Comr. Adams Oshiomole as APC National Chairman, that over bloated their ego, concluding that ASIWAJU presidential ambition has been scuttled, he went into an overdrive, his smart co-travellers technically abandoned him and did a detour, well this a discussion for another day i will confine the passage to Rivers State APC leadership.
Just like the Roman empire fell after over 800 years and the babarian Germanic leader Odoacer took over Rome.
Can anyone say Sir Peter Odili is still the leader of PDP in Rivers State? That’s how transient power is, change is dynamic and permanent in life.
I sincerely sympathize with a lot of People whose hopes, aspiration and great expectations hanged on his political life line. So they are finding it difficult to believe that the end of the era has suddenly come and a new APC Sheriff is in town in the person of Chief Tony Okocha.
Chief Tony Okocha’s emergence was not accidental, because nature abhors vacuum, when it was obvious that that APC leadership in Rivers State were very antagonistic to the president – elect as soon as he won the primaries, they took to all manner of propaganda and mischief to town, that Tinubu was on pampers, his hands were shaking, he pees on his pants, he has brain wave, falling sickness, name them. This is supposed to be there presidential candidate, what an irony! Of course, these could be taken as normal political mumble-jumbo to outwit, they went overboard and primaries are long over. What were they trying to achieve? You couldn’t find any poster of APC candidates together with ASIWAJU in Portharcourt and it’s environs .
Chief Tony Okocha stood and successful mobilized pro Tinubu groups in Rivers State to sustain the momentum in all the nooks and crannies of Rivers State for the Victory witnessed, I am talking of campaign, don’t get me wrong, the anchoring of the party when Gov Wike was busy with PDP campaign as well, before the switch on election day to vote Bola Tinubu. Chief Tony Okocha was on ground with different ASIWAJU support groups for over one year of intense electioneering campaign, house to house, village to village, shop to shop bus stop to bus stop, that counts and matters a lot. These were done by true progressives and faithfuls of the man called Leader of APC.
All through the campaign period in Rivers State it wasn’t in doubt that Chief Tony Okocha excellently distinguished himself as a true progressive of the new order of the BATist school.
Having listened to his interviews, press briefings, and recent book lunch together with the capacity he showed in coordinating ASIWAJU presidential campaign in Rivers State , i dare say that it’s no longer the voice of one crying in the wilderness “prepare the way of the lord make his path straight”.
Talking of timing, Chief Okocha has proven to also be a master strategic political timer and the odds are in his favor. Whether Gov Wike decamps to APC or not Chief Tony Okocha is well positioned to continue playing a leading role in Rivers State APC with an ASIWAJU Bola Ahmed Tinubu Presidency.
Chief Tony Okocha replied the journalist, saying, just as Christ was asked by Pontius Pilate, “Are you the KING OF THE JEWS”? You have said it!
ROWLAND ACHONWA
Political commentator/
Greater Nigeria Assembly Forum ( GNAF)