The National and State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal in Oyo State has made a decision to hold a re-run election for the Saki West state constituency. Previously, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Mr Shittu Ibrahim of the All Peoples Congress (APC) as the winner of the state assembly election for the constituency, which took place on March 18.
However, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Julius Okedoyin, and the PDP itself were not satisfied with the declaration. They went to the tribunal, claiming that there were issues of over-voting, irregularities, and non-compliance with electoral guidelines.
After carefully considering the evidence presented, the tribunal unanimously ruled in favor of the petitioners. The tribunal found that the allegations had merit and were proven beyond reasonable doubt. They specifically mentioned the cancellation of results from Ward 6 Unit 7 and Ward 11 Unit 19, where 1,285 voter cards were collected. The tribunal believed that this cancellation could significantly impact the outcome of the election.
As a result, the tribunal set aside the certificate of return issued to Mr Shittu Ibrahim by INEC. They ordered a re-run election to determine the true winner of the Saki West constituency election. The re-run election will take place in Ward 6, Unit 7 and Ward 11, Unit 19 within the next 90 days.
Mr Sikiru Adewoye, the counsel for Mr Shittu Ibrahim, stated that his client will file an appeal against the tribunal’s judgment. On the other hand, Mr Yusuf Ogunrinde, the counsel for the petitioners, praised the tribunal for their decision.
