An electoral petition tribunal sitting in Ikeja, Lagos on Monday, rejected a petition from the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and the Labor Party (LP) challenging the success of Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu at the elections held on March 9.
The chairman of the tribunal, Justice T. T Asua, dismissed the petitions because the petitioners were unable to file requests for a pre-hearing conference after the pleadings had been closed within seven days as prescribed by law.
The three-man panel noted that a timely request for a pre-hearing conference was a condition for the petitions to be heard and, without the request for pre-hearing conferences, the petition could not begin or reach the stage of judgment.
The panel observed that Section 285(4) of the Fourth Alteration to the 1999 Constitution was inapplicable because the timely request for pre-hearing meetings was a precondition in matters relating to electoral petitions.
Discarding the requests, Justice Asua said the inability to serve any of the participants was not an excuse, and the result of failing to apply timely for a pre-hearing conference was that such a request was dismissed.
Following the ruling, Bola Aidi, the AD and LP counsel thanked the court for a well thought-out decision
As participants to the requests, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mr Sanwo-Olu, All Progressive Congress (APC) and the INEC Residential Electoral Commissioner were mentioned.
Other participants are the Lagos State governorship election returning officer, the police commissioner, and the Nigerian Army.
Abiodun Owonikoko, Mr Sanwo-Olu’s counsel, raised an objection on the basis of Paragraph 18(1)(4) of the Electoral Act through a petition lodged on May 22.
Mr Owonikoko observed that the AD and LP had not lodged pre-trial proceedings within seven days of the pleadings being closed.
However, Mr Aidi said in his reply of 26 May that Section 285(8) of the Fourth Alteration of the 1999 Constitution does not allow the termination of any electoral petition at the interlocutory phases.
AD, his candidate for governor, Owolabi Salis, and LP, along with his candidate for governor, Ifagbemi Awamaridi, questioned Mr Sanwo-Olu’s victory in their requests on the basis that he was not qualified to run as a candidate for governor in the election.
The petitioners said the elections of March 9 were marred by violence, voting irregularities, and Mr Sanwo-Olu was unable to vote or vote because he did not have a valid voter card.
