The governorship election petitions tribunal has fixed September 30 to deliver judgment on PDP gubernatorial candidate Oladipupo Adebutu’s petition against Governor Dapo Abiodun of the All Progressives Congress.

This is according to a notice of judgment sent to their legal representatives.

INEC had declared Mr Abiodun the winner of the election, having polled 276,298 votes to defeat Mr Adebutu, who scored 262,383 votes.

Mr Adebutu, in the petition marked EPT/OG/GOV/03/2023, challenged the victory of the incumbent governor, bordering on alleged non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act and electoral malpractice during the poll.

Counsel to Mr Adebutu, Goddy Uche, presented the documents in various Ghana-must-go bags before the tribunal at the Magistrates’ Court, Isabo, Abeokuta.

He explained that the presentation of the exhibits followed the court’s instruction at the pre-hearing stage that both petitioners and respondents should present their documents for their cases.

Mr Uche said that he had served the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mr Abiodun and APC, being the first, second and third respondents, respectively, with the 98-page schedule of documents.

He added that he had also listed all the tendered documents, including INEC forms, ECAs, voters’ registers, and printed IREV results before the court.

In March, Mr Adebutu said he was confident the tribunal would overturn the victory handed to Governor Dapo Abiodun by INEC. 

Mr Adebutu also described the Ogun governorship election as the worst in the history of the country’s democracy.

“What I saw in the elections is the politics of intimidation, harassment and subversion. It was the first time in the history of our democracy that people were harassed, intimidated and threatened not to come out to vote,” Mr Adebutu alleged. 

He added, “Lots of injustice was perpetrated. I feel very aggrieved because we saw lots of inconsistencies. We are law-abiding; before they (INEC) made that declaration, we informed them. We petitioned them to show that that declaration was wrongful.”

Peoples Gazette reported Mr Abiodun’s plot to get Mr Adebutu off his back and concede defeat.

To plead his cause, Mr Abiodun dispatched the Akarigbo of Remo, Babatunde Ajayi, and other traditional chiefs from the state to London to meet with Kesington Adebutu, the PDP candidate’s father, hoping to broker a peace accord that will end in the termination of the legal battle, multiple sources familiar with the matter told The Gazette.

The Akarigbo was joined on the trip by Asiwaju Solomon Onafowokan, chairman of Coleman Cable; Otunba Tunji Lawal-Solarin, chairman of Remo Growth and Development Foundation; Adewale Osiberu, Elepe of Epe; and Timothy Adesanya, Ewusi of Makun, The Gazette learnt.