The Local Government Election Petition Tribunal in Lagos State has declared Abdulrauf Adelekan of People’s Democratic Party (PDP), as the winner of the council election to Ward E, Mende Local Government Area of the state.
This is coming after the election tribunal earlier in the month declared the candidate of the PDP in last year’s local council polls, Ibrahim Babajide Obanikoro, as the duly elected Chairman of the Ikoyi/Obalende Local Council Development Area (LCDA).
Delivering the ruling on Wednesday, the five-man panel led by Justice Dolapo Akinsanya granted the application of the PDP’s candidate based on the argument that the evidence submitted by the Action Congress of Nigeria candidate (ACN), Ogungade Omotayo Aibinu was contradictory.
The panel also claimed that lawyers to the ACN failed to dislodge any of the evidences submitted by the PDP’s legal team.
The applicant had alleged that the ACN connived with Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) to present a figure that did not match the figure submitted by the polling agents and the Police on the day of the election.
Reacting to the judgement, LASIEC counsel, Osasu Isibor said “the judgement was against the weight of evidence”.
He also alleged that the court used facts and evidence that were not pleaded by the applicant, which he described as a ‘non-issue’.
The lawyer however declared that LASIEC will immediately file a notice of appeal of the judgment, noting that the PDP candidate will have to wait till the appeal is concluded, before he can assume the councillor’s office.