Daily Gazette recall that Dr. Adebule Idiat Oluranti, former Lagos state deputy governor had polled 361,296 votes to defeat Adewale Adesegun Sunday who got 248,653 votes in the election for Lagos West Senatorial Zone.
Dissatisfied with the INEC declaration and return, Adewale of the Peoples Democratic party approached the Tribunal with a petition marked EPT/LAG/SEN/04/2023, seeking to reverse Adebule’s victory as affirmed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
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He listed Adebule, APC, and INEC as the 1st to 3rd respondents.
But the Tribunal, in a unanimous decision, upheld Dr. Adebule’s argument that Adewale and the PDP abandoned their petition.
The Tribunal noted that the Petitioners failed to apply for the issuance of a Pre-Hearing Notice, which was mandatory under Paragraph 18 (1) of the 1st Schedule to the Electoral Act 2022.
Its decision followed the judgment in CA/LAG/EP/SEN/02/2023 and CA/LAG/EP/SEN/03/2023, wherein the justices found that the Pre-Hearing Notices filed by the Petitioners further to Paragraph 18 (1) of the 1st Schedule to the Electoral Act 2022 was defective.
Today, the Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja affirmed the election of Adebule as the validly elected senator representing Lagos West Senatorial Zone at the National Assembly.
A three-man panel of the court, in a unanimous decision, dismissed a petition by PDP and its candidate, Adewale Adesegun Sunday challenging Adebule’s victory.
The appellate court upheld the August 8, 2023 judgment of the National and State House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Lagos that dismissed Adewale’s petition seeking to nullify Adebule’s win in the February 25 senatorial election.
The justices, in APPEAL NO: CA/LAG/ EPT/SEN/LAG/04/2023– ADEWALE SEGUN SUNDAY & ANOR VS ADEBULE IDIAT OLURANTI & 2 ORS which lead judgment was delivered on September 9, 2023 by Justice Oluwayemisi E. Williama-Dawodu dismissed the appeal as being frivolous and unmeritorious.
