November 15, (THEWILL) – The Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal, on Wednesday, dismissed the two appeals, filed separately by the governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour and his counterpart in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olajide Adediran, popularly known as Jandor, against the electoral victory of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat.
The three-member panel of the Appellate Court, led by Justice Yargata Nimpar, in a unanimous judgement, dismissed the two appeals for lacking in merit.
The court held that the Appellants failed to prove their allegations of forgery and non-qualification against the governor and his deputy,
Justice Nimpar described the PDP candidate, Adediran as a meddlesome interloper for challenging the emergence of Messrs Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat at the primary exercise of their party, the all Progressives Congress (APC), adding that he was neither an aspirant or a member of the APC.
The court added that the issue of nomination, sponsorship and qualification of a candidate presumed to have won an election are pre-election matters, which ought not to have come before the tribunal, but a regular court.
On the issue that the governor forged his secondary school certificate, the court held that the Nigerian constitution doesn’t provide that a candidate need attach his certificate in his forms. It also found that the appellant failed to establish forgery as alleged, by not tendering the presumed original certificate along with what was said to be fake.
Ruling on the alleged renunciation of Nigerian citizenship by the deputy governor, the justices held that there was no material evidence needed by Rhodes-Vivour to prove his allegation.
The court held that by virtue of section 28 of the Nigerian Constitution, a citizen of Nigeria by birth cannot lose his citizenship even when he assumes the citizenship of another country.
“No breach of the right to fair hearing by the lower court has been established by the appellant as claimed. This appeal has hit the rock and it falls flat on its face due to the paucity of evidence.
“The judgement of the tribunal is hereby affirmed, the return and declaration of Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat are also hereby affirmed. All parties are to bear their costs”, the court held.
