The Supreme Court has affirmed the re-election of Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun.
INEC declared Abiodun winner of the governorship election after polling 276,298 votes to defeat his closest rival Oladupupo Adebutu, who polled 262,383 votes.
THE WHISTLER recalls that the Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos State had affirmed the re-election of Abiodun in split decision.
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Justice Joseph Shagbaor Ikyegh who read the majority judgment dismissed the appeal filed by the candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ladi Adebutu, for lacking in merit.
However, Justice Jane Esienanwan Inyang who delivered the minority judgment agreed with the appellant and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a fresh election within 90 days.
Adebutu challenged Abiodun’s re-election on the ground that the Electoral Act, 2022 was not adhered to, citing corrupt practices and issue of non-qualification.
The Ogun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal had equally dismissed the PDP case.
At the proceedings at the apex court, Chris Uche, counsel for the appellants, said INEC ought to have conducted fresh elections in 99 polling units (40,000) where elections were cancelled and not declared a winner.
He contended that the return of the governor by INEC was unlawful and the election was wrongly concluded because corrupt practices were allegedly manifest during the March 18, governorship poll.
Abiodun Owonikoko, counsel for the first respondent (INEC), asked the apex court to dismiss the appeal, saying governorship and presidential election is not just determined by margin of lead principle but by spread of votes, according to Section 179 of the 1999 Constitution.
Wole Olanipekun, counsel for the governor, urged the apex court to dismiss the appeal which challenges concurrent decisions of the two lower courts.
Reading his lead judgment on Friday, Justice Tijani Abubakar, said he carefully studied the issues argued by the parties and the appeal is unmeritorious and is dismissed.
He affirmed the concurrent judgments of the lower courts.
The five-man panel chaired by Justice Inyang Okoro, agreed with the lead judgment.