The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the recent Lagos governorship election, Abdul‑Azeez Adediran, has filed a petition with the Lagos Governorship Election Tribunal challenging the results of the March 18 election. In the petition, dated April 7 and referenced as EPT/LAG/GOV/01/2023, the PDP alleges that the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Labour Party (LP) failed to comply with the Electoral Act 2022 and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) guidelines.
The petition seeks the disqualification of the APC candidate, Babajide Sanwo‑Olu, and the LP candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes‑Vivour, on the grounds of “non‑compliance” with the Electoral Act and INEC’s timetable. The respondents named in the petition are: INEC (first respondent); Babajide Sanwo‑Olu (second respondent); Obafemi Hamzat, the Lagos‑elect deputy governorship candidate (third respondent); the APC (fourth respondent); Gbadebo Rhodes‑Vivour (fifth respondent); and the LP (sixth respondent).
The petition argues that the second and third respondents were not duly sponsored or qualified to contest the governorship, yet they participated alongside the petitioner. Similarly, it contends that the fifth and sixth respondents were also improperly sponsored and unqualified. Despite these alleged deficiencies, the first respondent (INEC) declared the second respondent, Sanwo‑Olu, as the winner of the governorship election and recognized the fifth respondent, Rhodes‑Vivour, as having secured the second‑highest number of votes.
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