In Nigeria, PDP candidate withdraws petition against Ekiti governor’s re-election
In Nigeria, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Wole Oluyede has withdrawn a petition to the Election Tribunal challenging the re-election of Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the APC. At its first sitting in Ado-Ekiti, the tribunal struck out the petition after a motion for its withdrawal was filed.
As Premium Times Nigeria reports, the motion on behalf of Oluyede and the PDP was filed by their lawyer, Paul Komolafe. Representatives of Oyebanji and the APC, as well as Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission, did not object to the withdrawal of the petition.
Voting results
The electoral commission declared Oyebanji the winner of the Ekiti State governorship election held on 20 June. According to its data, he received 319,224 votes, while Oluyede got 40,543 votes. African Democratic Congress candidate Dare Bejide came third with 12,872 votes.
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After the tribunal hearing, Oluyede told journalists that he had decided to withdraw the petition following requests from people he described as important to him, including President Bola Tinubu and several advisers. He also said that Oyebanji had offered him cooperation after winning the election.
Other petitions to the tribunal
The tribunal adjourned until Thursday to rule on the parties’ pre-hearing report. Hearings on petitions by the Social Democratic Party and its candidate Isaac Alade, as well as Action Alliance and its candidate Matthew Omotoso, were scheduled for 14 September. They are also challenging the declaration of Oyebanji as the winner of the election.
In the election, Alade received 179 votes and Omotoso received 126. The chair of the judicial panel, Abubakar Idris Kutigi, urged the applicants’ representatives to serve documents on the respondents in advance and ensure the attendance of witnesses at the next hearing.
