The Court of Appeal sitting in Ibadan , the Oyo State capital, has dismissed the appeal filed by the Labour Party (LP) against the election of the Governor of Ogun State , Dapo Abiodun.
This was disclosed in a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Kunle Somorin, on Friday.
According to Somorin, the court described the Labour Party’s appeal as lacking in merit and outright frivolous.
The statement reads in part , “The court upheld the submission of counsel to Abiodun and the All Progressives Congress, Wale Ajayi, that the governor was duly elected and calling for the invalidation of the poll that returned him could not stand legal requirements for the nullification of elections.”
The LP in Ogun State as well as its 2019 governorship candidate, Modupe Sanyaolu, had dragged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Abiodun, and the All Progressives Congress (APC) before the election petition tribunal sitting in Ogun State to challenge the exclusion of its party from the ballot papers used for the March 9 governorship election.
But the Yusuf Halilu-led tribunal had earlier struck out the petition due to the failure of the petitioners and their counsels to appear in court on a date fixed for the commencement of hearing.
Efforts of the petitioners to relist the petition for rehearing before the same tribunal did not succeed as well.
Speaking with newsmen, the LP Chairman in Ogun State, Abayomi Arabambi, confirmed the report.
However, Arabambi said the LP still has one other appeal before the court.
