The Ogun State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal on Saturday dismissed an application of the state chapter of the Labour Party (LP) against the electoral victory of Governor Dapo Abiodun of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The tribunal, led by Justice Yusuf Halilu, gave its verdict, saying it lacked jurisdiction to reverse itself by relisting the petition.
It will be recalled that the Abayomi Arabambi-led LP dragged the APC, Abiodun and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the tribunal over alleged unlawful exclusion of the party during the March 9, 2019 governorship election in the state.
On June 21, the tribunal dismissed the party’s petition for lack of diligent prosecution and also awarded a N500,000 compensatory fine against the petitioners to be paid to Abiodun.
Then, the petitioners as well as their witnesses and counsel were all absent in court on the day earlier agreed for the commencement of trial.
Soon after the dismissal, the LP filed an application before the tribunal to relist the petition challenging Abiodun’s election.