February 10, (THEWILL) – Governor Ademola Adeleke has filed 31 grounds appeal against the ruling of the Justice T. A. Kume-led Election Petition Tribunal, which annulled his victory in the July 16 governorship election in the State.
THEWILL reports that the Tribunal had in a judgement on January 27, 2023, declared former Governor Gboyega Oyetola, as the winner of the poll citing over-voting in some polling units.
But in a Notice of Appeal filed before the Court of Appeal, Akure Division, against the decision of the Election Tribunal, Adeleke listed 31 grounds in his appeal where the Tribunal erred in law.
Dated January 30, 2023, the notice of Appeal signed by lead counsel, Onyeachi Ikpeazu, on behalf of 26 other lawyers, prayed the Court to set aside the judgement of the Election Tribunal
According to him, the third member of the panel, Rabi Bashir, did not voice her opinion on the judgement.
“The second member of the lower Tribunal never rendered a decision or opinion in the petition orally or in writing.
“The second member of the lower Tribunal could not have validly signed the decision of the Chairman of the lower Tribunal without an opinion.
“What was presented as the lead decision of the Tribunal is a nullity in fact and in law, not lead decision of the lower Tribunal,” he contended.
Adeleke further argued that the Tribunal decided the matter without considering the totality of his case, adding that the panel also expressed bias against him by referring to him dancing to Buga song in the judgement that annulled his victory.
He also said reports of entries on the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System machines used for accreditation during the poll were superior and unique, adding that the panel should not have granted the reliefs sought by the petitioners before it.
Similarly, the PDP in its Notice of Appeal signed by the party’s lead counsel, Alex Izinyon, on behalf of 19 other lawyers and dated February 6, 2023, listed 43 grounds of appeal and said the judgement given by the panel was against the weight of evidence laid before it.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, through its counsel, Prof. Paul Ananaba, had earlier appealed against the judgement of the Tribunal.
