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| Governor Olusegun Mimiko |
• ACN, PDP candidates head for Supreme Court
By: James Sowole in Akure
The Court of Appeal yesterday dismissed the appeals filed by
the candidates of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu
(SAN), and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Chief Olusola Oke,
against the judgment of the Election Petitions Tribunal that dismissed their
petitions on the outcome of the October 20, 2012 governorship election in Ondo
State.
The appellate court, in a judgment delivered by Justice
Daniel Kalio, dismissed the grounds of the appeals and upheld the declaration
of Dr. Olusegun Mimiko of the Labour Party (LP), as the duly elected
governor of the state.
But in a swift reaction, the two candidates vowed to
challenge the judgment at the Supreme Court, saying the judgments of the
tribunal and that of the Court of Appeal were at variance with each other,
especially on the issue of voters’ register, which is a main issue in their
petitions.
The tribunal, chaired by Justice Andovar Kaka’an, had on May
3 affirmed that Mimiko was duly elected,
following his declaration by the Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC), as the winner of the election, following petitions by five candidates,
including Oke and Akeredolu, challenging the results of the election.
Dissatisfied with the judgment of the tribunal, Akeredolu
and Oke approached the Court of Appeal, asking it to set aside the judgment of
the tribunal.
However, the Court of Appeal rather than setting aside the
judgment of the tribunal, upheld all its submissions, except where it stated
that the issue of voters’ register as raised by the petitioners was not a
pre-election matter but one that the tribunal had jurisdiction to entertain.
All the judges that heard the appeal unanimously agreed in
dismissing the appeal in a judgment that lasted about one-and-a-half hours.
Though, the judgments as concerned the two appeals were read
separately by different judges, they were similar as the pleadings of the
appellants and matters to deal with were similar.
The court held that the appellants failed to prove the
allegations of substantial non-compliance of the 2012 election with the
Electoral Act beyond reasonable doubt.
Mimiko, in his reaction, said it was time for the opposition
to sheath their swords and join him in developing the state.
But Oke said the judgment was a brazen defeat of the
expectations of the people, adding that he has directed his legal team to study
the judgment for further decision on the matter.
Also, the ACN said the judgment came as a rude shock and was
a worrisome development.
Akeredolu said the judgment
had hastened to confirm his decision to proceed to the Supreme Court for final
adjudication in this matter.
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