THE EKITI STATE ELECTION PETITION TRIBUNAL UPHOLDS GOVERNOR OYEBANJI’s ELECTION.

The Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti state capital, has upheld the election of Governor Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti State and his deputy, Mrs. Monisade Afuye.

Reports from Ekiti claim that the  Tribunal in its judgment this Thursday in Ado -Ekiti dismissed the petition of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship candidate, Mr. Segun Oni, seeking to annul the election of Oyebanji and his deputy, Mrs. Afuye, of the All Progressive Congress.

The three-man tribunal chaired by Justice Wilfred Kpochi ruled that the allegations of election rigging, vote trading, and procedural violations raised by the candidate of the Social Democratic Party, Segun Oni were vague and unspecific.

The tribunal equally struck out the request for disqualification of the deputy governorship candidate of the APC for alleged certificate forgery, saying the issue was not brought up within the expected 21 days period legally allowed, and that raising new facts and pleas midway would amount to a breach of injunctions.

In the judgment read by the Chairman of the court, Justice Wilfred Kpochi and a member of the Panel, Justice Sa’ad Zadawa, resolved all issues in contention against Oni and his party, SDP.

The Panel held that the petition filed by Oni against the return of Oyebanji and Afuye respectively “failed woefully head or tail.”