Posted by On Thursday, the Oyo State Governorship Election lawsuit Tribunal ruled against the Allied Peoples’ Movement’s lawsuit challenging Governor Seyi Makinde’s victory in the March 11 election.
Makinde, running on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket, was re-elected to a second term.
According to information obtained by KURYALOADED, APM contacted the tribunal and contested Makinde’s victory. INEC and PDP are also named as respondents in the case.
Henry Bello, representing APM, told the tribunal that he had requested the dismissal of the case against Makinde.
Bello claimed that Mr. Adeniran Oluwaseyi, the party’s candidate and the petition’s intended recipient, had lost faith in the petition and instead congratulated Makinde.
Attorney for INEC Kizito Duru stated that he had no objections to the petition and will not be seeking any fees.
PDP attorney Isiaka Olagunju stated that his client did not object to the withdrawal of the petition. He then requested that the petitioner be ordered to pay costs of N2 million.
In his remarks, Makinde’s attorney Kunle Kalejaye claimed that he, too, had received the withdrawal application on the day of the hearing and that he had no objections to it.
He asked the court to throw out the petition and impose a N10 million fine on the petitioner as a deterrent.
The APM’s case was reportedly denied in a unanimous decision read by the tribunal’s chairman, Justice Ejiron Emudainohwo, as reported by KURYALOADED
The tribunal found in favor of Makinde and the PDP, and granted them N1 million in costs against APM.
The petition was deemed frivolous by Emudainohwo.
She also said it was disgraceful that the petition was submitted 46 days after the party found out its candidate was not interested in running.
She argued that the petitioner should be made to pay the respondents’ and the tribunal’s costs because he or she had wasted their time and resources by filing frivolous motions.