Omoniyi Salaudeen
The 2019 general election has come to an end with the recent conclusion of the Rivers State governorship election. But as the popular saying goes, “it is not over until it is over,” there are varied of issues surrounding the outcome of the elections.
While the victors in the contest are warming up for the change of baton, where applicable, those who couldn’t make it, on the other hand, are busy filing their papers at the Election Petition Tribunals to seek redress. Ogun State is not an exception.
Already, the aggrieved governorship candidate of the Allied People’s Movement (APM), Abdulkabir Akinlade, who is yet to concede victory to Prince Dapo Abioudun of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the March 9 governorship election, claiming that the poll was allegedly rigged, has approached the tribunal to challenge the results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The Returning Officer, Professor Idowu Olayinka, who announced the results of the governorship poll, declared Abiodun as the governor-elect with a total of 241,670 votes, ahead to his closest challenger, Akinlade who polled 222,153 votes.
But Akinlade, in a swift reaction, rejected the result, claiming that it was massively rigged. In a statement issued by his media aide, Azeez Adelani, he said compelling evidence available to him clearly showed that the APM won the election, but was rigged out, adding that his legal team had been put on standby to prove his claim.
“They stole our APC mandate at the governorship primaries on October 2, 2018. They brought in armed uniformed men on the night of March 9th 2019 to manipulate and substitute election results, arrest and send APM agents away from collation centres to achieve their plans to rig the election,” he said.
The succession crisis within the ruling APC in the state which culminated in the formation of the APM is a familiar story. Therefore, it is not surprising that the governorship battle has shifted to the tribunal. Just last week, the Ogun State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abeokuta, in response to Akinlade’s request, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to allow the APM and its candidate in the March 9, 2019 election, inspect the documents used for the exercise.
Justice Chinwe Onyeabor, chairman of the three-member panel, gave the order at its inaugural sitting following an ex-parte motion filed by the petitioners. Counsel to Akinlade, Mamman Osuman (SAN), told the panel that the application was brought pursuant to Section 151, sub-sections 1 and 2 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).
Consequently, the tribunal gave “an order directing the first respondent to forthwith grant access to the petitioners/applicants and their solicitors, agents, experts and other staff to inspect, photocopy, scan, pay for and obtain certified copies of all documents used by the first respondent for the conduct of the Ogun State governorship election held on March 9, 2019 for the purposes of instituting and maintaining election petition. The said documents being the ones contained in the schedule attached to the supporting affidavit to this application.”
It also directed “the first respondent to promptly abide by the orders of this court made in the terms of the ex-parte application.”
In granting the request, Justice Onyeabor said the prayer was “strictly in compliance with the cited provisions.”
As the legal battle rages on, controversy has continued to trail Akinlade’s statement, accusing Abiodun of boasting that federal might would be deployed to influence the outcome of the tribunal regardless of how credible APM evidences are.
For this reason, he said “my legal team has been directed to write the United States, United Kingdom, European Union and other international organisations over the electoral issues in the state during just concluded governorship election. The invitation of the international organisations is to request them to send independent observers to monitor the state governorship tribunal case. I would formally write President Muhammadu Buhari and his deputy, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo on the need to protect my constitutional rights,” the APM governorship candidate declares.
But Mr Olamide Lawal, Coordinator, Dapo Abiodun Youth Vanguard, while reacting to the statement, described the allegation as “ridiculous and unfounded.”
He argued that It was cowardice for the APM to be alleging that the APC is planning to use federal might to influence the ruling of the tribunal.
He further said “we are all aware that it was Governor Amosun who used to parade himself as the anointed son of President Buhari. So, if anyone is expected to use federal might, then it should be Amosun and his sponsored APM party. In fact, I make bold to say that it was APM that rigged the election in their strongholds by compromising the electoral officers, security and some political leaders to perpetrate their multiple voting and voting without the card readers. This occurred in my local government (Abeokuta North) and we also heard reports of these and other electoral malpractices in other areas particularly in Ipokia, Yewa South, Ado Odo, Ifo, Ewekoro and Abeokuta South.”
Accusation has also been raised against the National Leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for allegedly leading the plot to influence the tribunal. But Lawal debunked the claim, pointing out the tribute Amosun wrote on him (Tinubu) on the occasion of his 60th birthday.
He said: “Before they go to town to sell the theory of Tinubu in Ogun State Election Petitions Tribunal, let me remind Amosun of what he wrote in a piece tagged the ‘Pragmatist,’ which was part of the articles compiled to a book-Asiwaju: Leadership in Troubled Time-and I quote: ‘Asiwaju believes in the democratic principle that once the people have spoken, their voice must prevail.’ My simple question is this: why are they now crying blue murder? While we recognise their rights to seek legal redress, they should not divert people’s attention from the main issue. If they believe in the integrity of the court, they should go and prove the evidence of their allegations and wait for the final verdict. They should stop dissipating their energies on frivolities. The good people of Ogun State have spoken in unison and their voice must prevail,” Lawal maintained.
Meanwhile, some concerned groups and individuals have appealed to Akinlade to accept defeat and support the new coming administration in the interest of the state. One of them is Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye, a notable Yoruba leader of thought, who is also an indigene of the state.
In an interview with Daily Sun, he stressed the need for political stability through the culture of good sportsmanship, adding that “one thing I found lacking in our general attitude to election is lack of good spirit of sportsmanship. To have political stability, everybody must imbibe the spirit of sportsmanship. In this last election, it is only the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State, Mr. Jimi Agbaaje, who demonstrated genuine spirit of sportsmanship by congratulating Jide Sanwolu. I will encourage others to emulate him. If you don’t win in this election, you may win another time.”
Also, on his own part, Prof Banji Akintoye, noted that Governor Amosun could not have fought the party that made him and expected to succeed in installing his anointed candidate.
He argued further that Amosun is considerably popular and likeable too in the state. He was however quick to add that “the problem is that he wanted a candidate and he couldn’t get that candidate nominated by his party. Then, he went and created another party around the candidate. When the federal elections were over, he then went and tried to get that candidate to win the governorship election. That is a phenomenally difficult thing to do because he was knocking his head against the party that rules Nigeria. So, it is not surprising that he didn’t make it.
“But that he did not make it does not mean that he is not a strong man. He is, indeed, a strong man; a very capable person in many respects. But he was knocking his head against the party that rules Nigeria. And the party that rules wanted its candidate to win and he has won. That’s it.”
Also weighing in on the matter, the Ogun State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), advised the governor-elect to run an all-inclusive government. This is even as it asked other contestant to see Abiodun’s victory as an act of God.
The association’s chairman, Bishop Tunde Akin-Akinsanya, in a statement addressed to Abiodun said contrary to expectations of many people, the elections were peaceful.
To this end, he asked Abiodun to “Please note that no one can receive anything by his own power or might, but only through God that shows mercy.”