Ekiti Election Tribunal; SDP Chairman Recants, Can’t Substantiate Rigging On Election Day

By Ayodele Oni

The Election Petition Tribunal hearing the dispute arising from the June 18 governorship election in Ekiti State on Wednesday resumed hearing as the witnesses of the Petitioners commenced their evidence.

The first witness, the state Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Dr Dele Ekunola, entered the witness box where he was grilled for one hour, thirty five minutes by lawyers of the Respondents.

It was the continuation of the hearing of the petition filed by the SDP candidate at the last governorship election, Chief Segun Oni, who is challenging the return of the Governor-elect, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Biodun Oyebanji as the winner of the poll by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Oyebanji is the first Respondent while the Deputy Governor-elect is the fifth Respondent. Alhaji Mai Mala Buni is the third, while INEC is the fourth Respondent in the petition.

Under cross-examination by the counsel to second Respondent, the APC, Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN), Ekunola failed to mention names of the units and the wards where electoral malpractices he alleged in his witness statement on oath took place.

Ekunola also failed to mention the names of individuals he referred to as the agents of the second Respondent whom he accused in Paragraph 16 of his witness statement on oath of allegedly distributing between N5,000 and N10,000 to voters on election day.

The SDP Chairman also failed to substantiate his allegation in Paragraph 32 of his witness statement on oath that the first and second Respondents, Oyebanji and the  APC, supplied some voters with cards to give undue advantage to the ruling party at the poll.

Under cross-examination by counsel to first and fifth Respondents, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), Ekunola admitted that he did not ask for prayer that the candidate of his party, Oni, be declared as winner on his witness statement on oath even though he had made such prayer during his examination-in-chief.