The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has affirmed the election of former Lagos state deputy governor, Idiat Oluranti Adebule, as the validly elected senator representing Lagos West Senatorial District at the National Assembly.
According to a statement by Adebule’s media team, a three-man panel of the court, in a unanimous decision, dismissed a petition by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Adewale Adesegun Sunday aka Aeroland, challenging Adebule’s victory.
The appellate court upheld the August 8, 2023 judgment of the National and State House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Lagos that dismissed Adewale’s petition seeking to nullify Adebule’s win in the February 25 senatorial election.
The justices, in APPEAL NO: CA/LAG/ EPT/SEN/LAG/04/2023– ADEWALE SEGUN SUNDAY & ANOR VS ADEBULE IDIAT OLURANTI & 2 ORS which lead judgment was delivered on September 9, 2023 by Justice Oluwayemisi E. Williama-Dawodu, dismissed the appeal as being frivolous and unmeritorious.
Adebule polled 361,296 votes to defeat Adewale, who got 248,653 votes in the election.
Dissatisfied, Adewale and his party approached the Tribunal with a petition marked EPT/LAG/SEN/04/2023, seeking to reverse Adebule’s victory as affirmed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
He listed Adebule, APC and INEC as the 1st to 3rd respondents.
But the Tribunal, in a unanimous decision, upheld Dr Adebule’s argument that Adewale and the PDP abandoned their petition.
The Tribunal noted that the Petitioners failed to apply for the issuance of a Pre-Hearing Notice which was mandatory under Paragraph 18 (1) of the 1st Schedule to the Electoral Act 2022.
Its decision followed the judgment in CA/LAG/EP/SEN/02/2023 and CA/LAG/EP/SEN/03/2023, wherein the justices found that the Pre-Hearing Notices filed by the Petitioners further to Paragraph 18 (1) of the 1st Schedule to the Electoral Act 2022 was defective.
The statement added: “With this decision of the Court of Appeal, the People’s Democratic Party and its candidate Mr. Adewale Adesegun Sunday aka Aeroland have reached the end of the road in their quest to reclaim a mandate they were never given by the good people of Lagos West Senatorial District.
“H.E Senator Dr. Idiat Oluranti Adebule ‘Mama West’ as she is fondly called by her constituents, is now more than ever positioned to continue to serve and bring dividends of democracy to the good people of Lagos West Senatorial District.”