Author: The Nation

Petition filed by the defeated governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, in his bid to get the judiciary to nullify the election of Governor Babajide Sanwoolu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and declare him the winner of the March 18 gubernatorial election in the state, has suffered setbacks, Assistant Editor, ‘Dare Odufowokan, reports.

There is anxiety within the Lagos State chapter of the Labour Party (LP) following a series of setbacks suffered by the petition filed by the party and its governorship candidate during the last gubernatorial election in the state, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, at the state’s Governorship Election Petition Tribunal. Checks by The Nation revealed that party leaders and members alike are worried by some developments at the tribunal.

Concerns within the party mounted last Thursday when the Lagos State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal disqualified a witness, Erastus Ofoma, who has been subpoenaed by Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, from testifying against Governor Sanwo-Olu and his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat. Ofoma’s appearance and testimonies were anticipated to help the case of the LP by the party’s legal team. The development is believed to have unsettled the party greatly.

Weeks earlier, anxiety was triggered within the party when the Tribunal dismissed an application by its defeated gubernatorial candidate, Rhodes-Vivour. The LP flagbearer was seeking an order for leave to consolidate his petition with that of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Olajide Adediran. The court by its ruling refused the consolidation of the petitions.

To further compound the situation for the LP and Rhodes-Vivour, the Lagos State chapter of the PDP and its governorship candidate, Olajide Abdul-Azeez Adediran, also known as Jandor, according to their demands in the petitions they submitted before the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, are seeking the disqualification of the LP) and its candidates in the guber election for non-compliance with the Electoral Act, 2022.

Recall that Sanwo-Olu defeated 15 other contestants from different parties to emerge the winner of the governorship election held in the state on March 18, 2023. The governor polled 762,134 votes to beat his closest rival, Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party, who polled 312,329 votes in the election. The PDP candidate, Jandor, garnered 62,449 votes to come a very distant third during the governorship election.

Dissatisfied, Rhodes-Vivour, after the election, approached the Election Petition Tribunal seeking the sack of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu as governor. In his petition to the tribunal, he is alleging that the governor was, at the time of election, not qualified to contest the election. The candidate of LP listed some grounds on which his petition is based.

He alleged that the election of Sanwo-Olu was invalid by reason of corrupt practices or non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 and the Constitution. The third ground was to the effect that Sanwo-Olu was not duly elected by majority of the lawful votes cast at the election. He asked the tribunal to nullify Sanwo-Olu’s return and declare him the winner of the election.

Fresh blow

Rhodes-Vivour’s legal team, as part of efforts to prove the allegations against Sanwoolu, had invited Ofoma to come testify before the tribunal. But Chairman of the three-man tribunal committee, Justice Arum Igyen-Ashom ordered Ofoma to step down as he could not testify in the matter. The tribunal held that the witness’ statement on oath was uploaded out of time and outside the 21 days stipulated under the Electoral Act.

The tribunal ruled on the matter after taking submissions from counsels representing parties in the petition. Other members of the tribunal were Justice Mikail Adubulahi and Justice l.P. Braimoh. Rhodes-Vivour was represented by Dr. Olumide Ayeni (SAN).

The first respondent, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was represented by Eric Obigor, second and third respondents, Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat were represented by Bode Olanipekun (SAN) while the fourth respondent, the APC was represented by Norrison Quakers (SAN).

Ayeni, who represented the petitioner, had earlier informed the tribunal of his intention to call the subpoenaed witness, Ofoma. He said the witness had deposed to his statement on oath and served the respondents. While INEC’s counsel, Obigor confirmed service Olanipekun and Quakers objected the application.

They said the witness was not one of the witnesses in the list that accompanied the petition. Olanipekun said there was no indication on the list that any witness was going to be subpoenaed to appear before the tribunal. He argued that in the case, an objection was taken to evidence being deposed outside 21 days permitted for presentation of petition.

According to him, all the justices of the appellate court are unanimous in their decision that the subpoenaed witness whose statement is not front loaded cannot give evidence. Quakers who also aligned with Olanipekun, further stated that during the pre-action protocol of the tribunal on June 5, the list of witnesses presented did not suggest that a subpoenaed witness was going to be presented.

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“It is a mandatory provision to comply with, that election petition shall be accompanied with list of witnesses to be called and their statement on oath. The petitioner cannot ambush respondents and the tribunal. At pre-hearing protocol, all applications have been closed. I urge the tribunal to discountenance the witness purportedly being subpoenaed in the person of Ofoma.” he said, citing the provisions of Electoral Act, first schedule, paragraph four.

The respected legal luminary insisted that the appearance of Ofoma is a violation of the Electoral Act. Following extensive arguments and counter-arguments by the lagal teams of all parties to the case, the tribunal upheld the pleadings of the respondents and ordered Ofoma to step down as he could not testify in the matter.

Application dismissed

Apart from also dismissing the application of LP’s defeated gubernatorial candidate, Rhodes-Vivour, for the consolidation of his petition with that of the PDP and its candidate, Adediran, the tribunal similarly rejected Rhodes-Vivour’s request to file an additional list of witnesses and their written statements on oath. All these developments are regarded as very worrisome setbacks by concerned chieftains and members of the opposition party.

The three-Justice panel dismissed the application for consolidation after hearing arguments from all the parties on the grounds that the parties, as well as the facts, subject matter of their petitions and reliefs sought are different. While the LP candidate’s petition was brought against the INEC, Governor Sanwo-Olu, and his deputy, Hazmat, Adediran’s petition in conjunction with his party, the PDP, have INEC, Sanwo-Olu, Hazmat, the APC, as well as Rhodes-Vivour and his party, as respondents.

The tribunal also observed, in its ruling, that Adediran’s counsel had earlier made it clear, in the pre-hearing information sheet, Form TF 008 of the Electoral Act 2022, that the petitioner and his party, the PDP, do not want the petition to be considered with that of others. With that, the tribunal turned down Rhodes-Vivour’s request to have his action and that of the PDP candidate consolidated.

In the second application which was dismissed, the tribunal held that the LP’s candidate should have sought the leave of the court for extension of time within which to amend his petition, as the 21 days stipulated by the Act within which to file an election petition has since passed.

As if the above mentioned developments are not enough worries for the LP and its legal team, the tribunal few days later, reviewed its initial order on the number of witnesses to be called by parties in Gbadebo Rhodes-Vi­vour’s petition. With the review, the APC, its candidate and that of the LP are to now present 30 witnesses each. Only INEC said it would limit the number of its witnesses to 10.

Another hurdle

The LP and its candidate will also have to cross the hurdle placed on their way at the tribunal by PDP and its candidate, Adeniran, if they are to make anything out of their petition. Adeniran and his party are, among other things, calling for the disqualification of the LP candidate in the election for non-compliance with the Electoral Act, 2022.

In the petition marked EPT/LAG/GOV/01/2023 and dated April 7, the petitioners challenged the outcome of the March 18 gubernatorial election on the grounds of substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act and the guidelines of INEC.

While INEC is the 1st respondent, Governor Sanwo-Olu and the APC deputy governorship candidate, Hamzat; the APC, the LP governorship gandidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour and the LP, respectively, are the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th respondents.Besides non-compliance with relevant provisions of the Electoral Act 2022, Jandor and PDP, in their petition, are claiming that at the time of the Gubernatorial election held on March 18, 2023, Sanwo-Olu, Hamzat, and Rhodes-Vivour weren’t qualified to contest the poll.

The petitioners, therefore, prayed that all votes cast for them in the election be declared wasted. “The disqualification of the governorship candidate of LP was also hinged on non-compliance of the LP with the requirement of the Electoral Law in the conduct of the primary election that produced the candidate,’ the defeated PDP governorship candidate told the tribunal.

He argued further that the notice of the primary election was issued by the state chapter of the party as against the provision that it must be issued and signed by the National Chairman and Secretary of the party. To many observers, the LP and its candidate may not find it easy brushing aside the many hurdles placed on its way in its quest to govern Lagos State.

Dr. Kabiru Usman Hassan is the Director General of Gombe Geographic Information System, (GOGIS). He was also the coordinator of Media organizations for Tinubu/Shettima campaign in Gombe State.
In this interview with Sola Shittu, Hassan, who is also known as the El Rufai of Gombe, said Vice President Kashim Shettima ‘s loyalty to President Bola Tinubu and the current political dispensation can assist greatly in putting an end to insecurity in the country.

On May 29th, a new government headed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was inaugurated in Abuja, what are your expectations for this government?

From the speech of Mr. President we know that he has prepared long time ago and he is ready for this job. To me, Tinubu has all it takes to do the work based on his antecedents as former governor of Lagos State. Our expectations are high and enormous if you consider so many challenges confronting the country in the area of security, Agriculture, economy and social areas.

For example, let us look at the economy; now that banditry and Boko Haram have subsided, I will like the President to be more concerned about putting more money into the security sector; provide manpower, equipment and advanced technology that could help to identify criminal hideouts for the armed forces and the fighting troops so that we can end terrorism once and for all.

Tinubu is a civilian and not an ex military personnel. Do you believe he can handle such a security matter successfully?

It’s not about being a civilian or military man. It’s more about the idea. There is a quote by a Paris writer, Victor Higo. He said when you have an idea in your head you already have the whole idea. Tinubu, I strongly believe, already has the idea in his head and considering his antecedent in Lagos on how he handled the menace of area boys and brought sanity to the state.

I am optimistic that he can do the same in the security sector. You cannot compare Tinubu with any military administrator because he has been preparing for this post for more than two decades. He believes in team work and anybody who believes in team work is a goal getter. With what we have seen him do in Lagos State, it is obvious that he has the right ideas. All that is left is the right atmosphere and team to put his ideas into practice.

What do you think of the combination of Tinubu and Kashim Shettima, the Vice President, who comes from your region?

You know, the two have the capacity to fight insecurity. Kashim Shettima in his days as Borno State governor for two terms did wonderfully well and cleared almost seventy percent of Boko Haram before handing over to his successor. He became the governor at a time when Boko Haram started but he was able to handle the situation and curb the menace drastically.

So the choice of Kashim Shettima is also a square peg in a square hole. As someone who is very close to Kashim Shettima, I know his character. He is a bold and courageous person who has foresight and is always thinking outside the box. Based on this my personal relationship with him I know his joint ticket with Tinubu will surprise Nigerians positively in terms of progress and infrastructural development.

These two will move Nigeria forward and increase internally generated revenue. I know that Shettima can help Tinubu in putting an end to insecurity in the country. He is also prepared for the tasks ahead of him. He has impressive track records too as a former governor. He is the right man to help Tinubu implement his ideas and plans for Nigeria.

Do you see them doing well with the economy of the country too?

If you look at the history of Tinubu as former governor of Lagos, he was able to sustain governance without federal government allocation. So I think Tinubu is the right President for Nigeria at this point in time. We should just rally round and pray for him. He has proven to us in the past that he is a man who knows what to do to bring about the change we need in this country. He will put together a team that will help him interprete his plans and implement them one by one.

What is your take on subsidy removal by Mr. President in his inaugural speech?

Buhari has already removed the subsidy and Bola Ahmed Tinubu is just here to implement it. For me, it is a good time for him to start with this issue of subsidy removal so that everybody will prepare their minds for it. However, I am sure that everything that has a beginning also has an end. In Fact it is good for us to start this way. When he announced in his inaugural speech that subsidy is gone, it is just to show you that he is a leader. As a leader once you make a pronouncement, there is no looking back. There is nothing like subsidy again, let us use the money for other developmental projects.

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What of the need for consultation before taking such a critical decision?

No need for consultation because I know they wanted to say it during the campaign but because it will have so many side effects that time, they decided to shelve it. So subsidy removal as announced by Mr. President is not a surprise. We should just thank God that it has eventually been removed. We should prepare our minds to work hard and make money so that whatever effect it’s going to have on us we can cope with it.

What is your view about the combination of the South West and the North East presidency?

If you can recollect, this same combination was tried in the 1993 election with Abiola and Kingibe and they successfully won the election but unfortunately, the process was truncated by military intervention. But for the military interruptions, we would have had this similar combination in 1993 when Abiola and Kingibe came on same faith ticket from both South West and North East.

Are you saying this is probably a return to Abiola/Kingibe hope ’93?

Yeah we can say so but we have to thank Nigerians for accepting the ticket because it’s not about the religion, it’s about the result. Now if you look at everywhere in the country, almost everyone has succumbed to the ticket. Almost 70 percent of Nigerians are happy with Bola Ahmed Tinubu because they know he has the capacity.

If you look at some previous vice president and deputy governors relationship with their principal what will be your advice to Shettima?

I want Kashim Shettima to emulate Yemi Osinbajo who had been loyal to his principal from beginning to the end of their administration. He should not allow a third party to enter into the relationship with his boss. I am saying this because of rumours that some evil people are wishing that if Tinubu dies, Kashim Shettima can take over.

No, Allah gives power, Allah is the one that can take souls and He is the owner of life. If I die, it’s from Allah. So I am advising the Vice President to be hundred percent loyal to his boss. The Tinubu that I have known for the past two decades now is a person who believes in teamwork. He believes in representation. Tinubu believes that if you have the capacity to do something then you can represent him and he will supervise.

He is not somebody that will give you work and then forget about you because he has the idea. These two gentlemen performed very well in their days as Governors of their various states. Kashim Shettima I know is a loyal party man but he should not allow people to get between them.

It is Allah that makes him the Vice President, there are hundreds of brains in the North, he is not the most brilliant but Allah chooses whosoever he wants. So I strongly advise him not to allow a third party to come between him and his principal. It is not everybody that will rise to become the President of a country, he should thank God that he is chosen to be number two citizen out of 250 million people.

To those who are close to Tinubu, they know he is someone who has a forgiving heart. Tinubu is different from many of our politicians in Nigeria. You can offend him and he will forgive you, I am telling you this from my own small political experience with him. It is only Tinubu that I know that has a forgiving heart.