The Oyo State governorship election petition tribunal has dismissed the petition of the Action Alliance (AA) party and its candidate, Babatunde Samson Ajala, against Governor Seyi Makinde.
The three-man tribunal, chaired by Justice Ejiro Emudainohwu, delivered the ruling on Friday in Ibadan, the state capital. Other members of the tribunal were Justices Baraka Wali and I. S. Galadima.
The petitioner had sought the cancellation of the March 18th, 2023 gubernatorial election result which declared Makinde the winner. The petitioner claimed that their candidate’s name was excluded from the ballot paper.
However, counsel for the AA and its candidate, Etibo Orowo King, urged the tribunal to strike out the case, stating that they had decided to discontinue it in the interest of peace and tranquillity.
Makinde’s counsel, Kunle Kalejaye (SAN), then urged the tribunal to dismiss the case, describing it as “dead on arrival.” The tribunal granted his request and awarded a sum of N100,000 in favour of INEC (the first respondent), N250,000 in favour of Makinde (the second respondent), and N250,000 in favour of the PDP (the third respondent).
With the dismissal of the petition, Governor Seyi Makinde of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) remains Oyo State’s governor for the time being. This judgment is likely to bring an end to the election dispute, which has lingered on for several months.
