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By Lukman Olabiyi
The Lagos State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has granted leave to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial candidate for the state, Dr Azeez Adediran (alias Jandor), for substituted service of an election petition on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
The tribunal also granted that Adediran should do the same for Labour Party’s gubernatorial candidate for the state, Mr Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour.
The respondents, in the petition numbered EPT/LAG/GOV/01/2023, are the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Sanwo-Olu, his deputy, Dr Hamzat Obafemi, the All Progressives Congress (APC), Rhodes-Vivour and the Labour Party (LP).
Adediran and his party, PDP, through their counsel, Mr Austin Akpomreta, had told the tribunal that he was unable to effect personal service of the petition on Sanwo-Olu, Hamzat and Rhodes-Vivour. He said the respondents were not physically present to receive the court process and, therefore, prayed the court to grant him leave to serve the petition and other processes on the governor and his deputy, through any officer or the secretary of APC in its Lagos State Secretariat, at No. 151, Acme Road, Ikeja.
He also prayed the court to grant him leave to serve the petition and other processes on Rhodes-Vivour, through any officer or secretary of LP in its Lagos State Secretariat, at No. 59, Oduduwa Way, GRA, Lagos. The tribunal granted all the reliefs.
In the petition, Adediran and PDP claimed that Sanwo-Olu and his deputy, Hamzat, were, at the time of the election, not qualified to contest. Adediran and PDP also submitted that Rhodes-Vivour, declared by INEC to have scored the second-highest number of votes at the February 25 governorship election, was, at the time of the election, also not qualified to contest.
