THE Supreme Court has upheld Sheriff Oborevwori’s election as governor of Delta State by dismissing all three appeals seeking to overturn his victory.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Oborevwori of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) winner in the March 18 governorship election.
Despite this, the opposing parties pursued legal action, but both the tribunal and the appeal court ruled in favor of Oborevwori.
However, in a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court, upheld the previous judgments and dismissed the appeals for lack of merit, affirming Oborevwori’s win.
The court also rejected Ovie Omo-Agege’s appeal on the grounds of failure to prove allegations of over-voting and noncompliance with electoral laws. The verdict, which came about ten months after INEC’s declaration, aligns with the lower courts’ findings that the appellants were unable to substantiate their claims of noncompliance.
Oborevwori won with 36,0234 votes, defeating Senator Ovie Omo-Agege of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Labour Party candidate Kennedy Pela. Despite challenges, both the tribunal and the Court of Appeal affirmed Oborevwori’s victory in the March election.
Supreme Court dismisses Adebutu’s appeal challenging gov Abiodun’s victory
The Supreme Court has also dismissed Ladi Adebutu’s appeal challenging Governor Dapo Abiodun’s victory in the Ogun State election.
Adebutu argued that Abiodun’s election did not adhere to electoral laws and that he did not receive the lawful majority of votes.
However, the apex court dismissed the appeal today, ruling that it lacked merit and affirmed Abiodun’s win.
This decision follows previous losses for Adebutu in the court of appeal and at the state tribunal.
Recall that governor Dapo Abiodun secured victory in the March 18 governorship election with 276,298 votes, defeating Adebutu, who received 262,383 votes, and Biyi Otegbeye of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), who garnered 94,754 votes.
Supreme Court dismisses PDP’s appeal against Gov Sule’s victory
The Supreme Court has also dismissed the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate David Umbugadu against the election of Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State.
The panel of justices unanimously dismissed the appeal as lacking merit and did not award any costs.
The Election Petition Tribunal in Lafia had initially nullified Governor Sule’s victory and declared David Ombugadu as the winner of the poll on October 2.
However, the court of appeal later overturned this decision on November 23, citing the tribunal’s reliance on legally inadmissible evidence and affirming Sule’s election as governor.
The appeal court emphasized that the tribunal should have filed written statements on oath alongside the petition within the statutory time frame, as stipulated by the constitution and electoral laws.
Despite this, the PDP candidate was dissatisfied with the appeal court’s judgment and sought to challenge it at the Supreme Court.
