Supreme Court affirms APC’s Fayemi victory

Nigeria’s Supreme Court Friday dismissed the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party and its governorship candidate in Ekiti State, Kolapo Olusola-Eleka challenging the election of Governor Kayode Fayemi.

The five-man panel of the Supreme Court led by the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, unanimously held that the appeal challenging the outcome of the poll lacked merit.

PDP and Olusola-Eleka want the Supreme Court to upturn the Ekiti State Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal judgments.

However, Justice John Okoro, who read the lead judgment, upheld the judgments. Both courts had dismissed the petition challenging the outcome of the July 2018 poll.

Fayemi polled a total of 197,459 votes to defeat Olusola-Eleka with 178,121 votes in the July 14, 2018 election.

PDP and Olusola-Eleka filed their petition before the Ekiti State Election Petition Tribunal, alleging among other things, that the poll was marred by a lot of wrongs including non-compliance with the Electoral Act.

But the tribunal on January 28, 2019, dismissed their petition and affirmed the results declared by INEC.

The petitioners further appealed the tribunal judgement, raising seven issues against it.

Justice Stephen Adah who led the three-man panel of the Court of Appeal resolved all the seven issues raised against the appellants and in favour of the respondents – Fayemi, INEC and APC.

Justice Adah dismissed the case for lacking in merit, a decision the two other members of the panel – Justices Tinuade Akomolafe-Wilson and Emmanuel Agim, consented to.