… as Jegede hints on appealing ruling
Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, has called on the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the last governorship election in the state, Mr Eyitayo Jegede and his party men to join him in developing the state.
His call came after the Ondo State Election Petition Tribunal on Tuesday struck out the petition filed by Jegede against Akeredolu’s victory in the October 20, 2020 governorship election in the state.
Jegede had approached the tribunal to nullify the Akeredolu’s victory on the ground of irregularities and invalid nomination of APC candidate.
The three-man panel led by Justice Umar Abubakar, who delivered the verdict via zoom, dismissed all the grounds of the PDP candidate’s petition for lack of merit.
The tribunal held that Akeredolu and his deputy, Aiyedatiwa, were duly nominated and sponsored by the APC in line with Section 177 of the Constitution and Section 31 of the Electoral Act.
“The tribunal cannot determine whether Mai Bala Buni, the Governor of Yobe State is illegally occupying the seat of caretaker chairman of the planning committee of the extraordinary convention of the APC.
“There is also evidence to confirm that the APC as the sponsor complied with the law in the process for the submission of the names of its candidates, Akeredolu and Aiyedatiwa. Jegede’s case is flawed and hereby dismissed”, the tribunal ruled.
Reacting to the ruling, Akeredolu called on Jegede and his party to join hands with him to move the state forward.
He said, “I must use this opportunity to thank the people of this state for the confidence they reposed in us. The people have spoken and they cannot be wrong. The result is there for all of us to see. It is a victory for all time and it has never happened in this state before, but we thank God for this victory. We thank God for the judgment of the tribunal.
“I want to thank my brother, Eyitayo Jegede, who is not just a brother but also my learned brother. He is somebody I respect a lot and he knows that; I see him as a friend. I want to call on him and implore him, let us join hands together, there is no need for litigation. I don’t see anything in it, let us all join hands together to build this state together. There is room for many and more, and I believe that we can join hands together and work together to build the state. He loves the state and I don’t have doubt about it as a gentleman par excellence.
“I don’t see this as any victory: no victor, no vanquished, it is just for us as contestants. Just like a game: you win some, you lose some; you can’t win them all. We thank God today that we are victorious.
“It was not just a victory; it was a double victory. We had people who went to court, about seven political parties against us at the Federal High Court, the case too was dismissed. There is no other thing, all I can say to you is that it is not me, it is not us; it is God, I give God all the glory. To God be the glory.”
Meanwhile, Jegede said he would consult his legal team on possibility of appealing the case.
According to him, “I will consult my counsels, who are knowledgeable in this business. A good number of them, some of them my senior. By the time I add my own knowledge, we shall forge forward.”
He added that “We don’t want to rush to do anything. We will look at the judgment. We will request a copy of the judgment given the fact that we have 60 days within which to conclude and we shall appeal if there is one and the time starts today. So it is important that we have access to the judgment just delivered. We need to look at what they have read. It is very critical and that is what we intend to do.
“I commend the judges that they were able to deliver the judgment within 180 days despite the strike. There is no emotion about this, we are interested in governance in Ondo State.”