Tribunal: Senate spokesman, Adeyeye loses as court declares Olujimi winner

The National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Ado Ekiti has sacked the senator representing Ekiti South senatorial district and Chairman Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Dayo Adeyeye.

The tribunal in a unanimous verdict that lasted three hours on Tuesday declared former Minority leader and the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, Senator Biodun Olujimi winner of the February 23, 2019, Senatorial poll.

The court ordered Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the certificate of Return from the Senate Spokesman and issued same to Senator Olujimi.

Following the declaration of Adeyeye, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress( APC)  winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC)  Senatorial election in  Ekiti South, the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party(PDP), Senator Olujimi, had approached the tribunal claiming she was the real winner.

She submitted that she scored the highest number of lawful votes cast during the keenly contested poll.

In the alternative, Olujimi prayed the tribunal to outrightly nullify Adeyeye’s victory and order supplementary election accordingly in the district.

In her written address, the petitioner claimed that the election was not conducted in substantial compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Acts, having been allegedly fraught with all manners of irregularities.

She prayed the Tribunal to annul votes in areas that were found to be incredibly marked with irregularities like over voting , multiple thump printing, ballot snatching, ballot stuffing and improper ballot-counting should be cancelled to know the actual winner of the poll.

But the respondents countered the submission, saying INEC did what was right and constitutional, by declaring the candidate of the APC the winner having found to have got the highest number of lawful votes .

Delivering the judgement, the three-man tribunal, led by Justice Danladi Adeck nullified elections in some polling units to declare Olujimi the authentic winner of the polls.

Eventually, Olujimi polled a total of 54,894 votes to emerge victorious over Adeyeye, who polled 52,243 votes.

Justice Adeck added that apart from the nullification in some units, the outcome of the tribunal’s verdict was predicated on the recount of the ballots by the contending forces as granted by the court.

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The Justice said for the petitioner to be so declared, she must prove those cases of criminal allegations of non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Acts and other corrupt practices raised in her petition beyond a reasonable doubt, which he said she did.

The tribunal noted that in Ikere, Gbonyin and  Emure local government areas, the petitioner was able to prove cases of over-voting and votes in those units were expunged from the ballots.

On the voting patterns, the Tribunal said,”It is not tenable to say that marked ballots were not properly deposited in the boxes because when this did not happen, then it will lead to over voting and will affect counting at every level of collation.

“To avoid this pitfall, those elections must be expunged in order not to vitiate the electoral process. Therefore, after those votes were deducted, PDP was left with 54, 894 votes while the respondent polled 52, 243 votes.

“The petitioner having polled the highest number of lawful votes should be declared the winner of the election.

“We hereby declare the petitioner the winner and he is hereby returned elected.

“We hereby direct  INEC to withdraw the certificate of return from the respondent and issue same to the petitioner,” he said.