Nigeria

Ondo election: PDP candidate tells tribunal to sack APC governor

Wednesday, January 13, 2021 at 10:54 AM by Kess Ewubare

- The Ondo state election petition tribunal has resumed sitting in a hearing challenging the victory of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu

- A governorship candidate of the PDP, Eyitayo Jegede has disclosed why he is challenging Akeredolu’s victory

- The counsel to INEC, Charles Edonsanmiwan faulted Jegede’s argument as lacking substance

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Eyitayo Jegede, a governorship candidate on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked a tribunal to sack Governor Rotimi Akeredolu for not been validly nominated by the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Tribune reported that Jegede told the Ondo state election petition tribunal on Tuesday, January 12, that the nomination of Akeredolu as the APC governorship candidate was contrary to the APC constitution and the Nigerian constitution.

Ondo: PDP Candidate reveals Why Tribunal Should Sack APC Governor — Jegede has alleged that there are irregularities in the Ondo governorship election. Photo: @TayoJegedeSAN, @RotimiAkeredolu
Source: Twitter

He argued that the APC caretaker chairman and governor of Yobe state, Mai Mala Buni, cannot function in duo capacity as a sitting governor and as the caretaker chairman of the party.

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However, the counsel to INEC, Charles Edonsanmiwan said Jegede is not an authorised staff of the electoral body and cannot determine if any candidate in an election has been wrongly credited with figures.

The PDP candidate also faulted the collation of the election results by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Business Day reported.

Jegede through his counsel, Onyeachi Ikpeazu asked the tribunal to invalidate the victory of Governor Akeredolu.

In another report, the governor of Ondo state, Rotimi Akeredolu, has recorded a victory in a case instituted against him over his emergence as the candidate of the APC during the governorship election in the state.

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday, December 15, dismissed the suit, saying it was statute-barred.

The plaintiff, Nathaniel Adojutelegan, who participated in the party's primary but lost, had challenged the adoption of the indirect mode of primary for the selection of a candidate for the election.