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Tag: Adegboyega Oyetola

  • Oyetola to SSG, CoS: Osun people need efficient service delivery

    OSUN State Governor Adegboyega Oyetola has urged appointees of his government to be efficient in service delivery.

    He also urged them to “hit the ground running, show leadership by example and give direction,” because the people are in a hurry to experience efficient service delivery.

    He gave the advice yesterday while inaugurating Secretary to the State Government (SSG) Mr. Wole Oyebamiji, Chief of Staff Dr. Charles Diji Akinola and Deputy Chief of Staff Mr. Abdullah Adeyenju Binuyo.

    Oyetola said the appointees “must be creative, proactive and come up with contemporary ideas and innovations that will speedily lead to efficient governance in the 21st-century knowledge- and technology-driven world”.

    At the inauguration held at the State Executive Council Lounge were Deputy Governor Benedict Alabi; President, Customary Court of Appeal, Mrs. Gloria Oladoke; Representative of House of Assembly Speaker, Folorunso Bamisayemi; Head of Service Dr. Festus Oyebade Olowogboyega, Commissioner of Police Mrs. Abiodun Ige, members of the state’s steering committee and political leaders.

    The governor explained that “Offices of the Secretary to the State Government; the Chief of State to the Governor and Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor are very important to the government and to the Governor’s Office as they constitute the brain box and the engine room of my administration”.

    “Your decision must be guided by the fear of God, fairness and justice. You must roll up your sleeves so that we can take our dear state to the next level.

    “You have been considered for your respective positions on merit. But you must note that the skills and competencies that qualify you for these jobs will need to be constantly improved upon to ensure adequate service delivery,” he said.

    Oyetola enumerated some of the achievements of his administration in the last four and a half months saying his government had “demonstrated beyond a doubt that, in the face of limited resources, appreciable and equitable service delivery is possible”.

    Read alsO: Oyetola promises to make mining benefit host communities

    He said the tremendous impact and impressions made by his government on the people of the state within the short time of the inception of office, has further fired the people’s expectations despite the state’s dwindling financial resources.

    According to him, Osun State had taken off on a high tempo as the government is massively rehabilitating township and rural roads across the state to further improve on infrastructure.

    “We are working assiduously to ensure quality and affordable education for our children so that they can compete with their peers anywhere in the world.

    “We are also poised to turn the other sectors around to deliver prosperity to our people. We are adopting a holistic approach to boosting the economy of the state.

    “We are planning an Economic Summit very soon, to produce a workable template and compass for sustainable economic development. We are also putting measures in place to increase the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) base of the state.

    “We are working hard to establish light manufacturing industries as well as liberalising the mining sector”, he added.

    Speaking on behalf of the appointees, Oyebamiji hailed the governor for the confidence reposed in them to serve the state.

     

  • Oyetola, stakeholders seek Court of Appeal Division in Osun

    OSUN State Governor Adegboyega Oyetola has thrown his weight behind the call for the establishment of a Court of Appeal Division in the state capital, Osogbo.

    He spoke during the beginning of the special sitting of the Court of Appeal, Akure Division at the Osun State High Court.

    The two-week programme is meant to enable the appellate court to attend to the many pending cases before the justices emanating from Osun State.

    The governor said: “I cannot end this address without lending my voice to the request of the stakeholders that you should graciously consider the possibility of having a Court of Appeal (Division) sited in Osun state.

    “I want assure you my Lords that our government would do everything possible to support this move.”

    Before the governor spoke, leaders of the Bench and Bar in the state, in separate speeches, urged the visiting justices to assist in making a case for the establishment of a division.

    With not less than 250 cases, Osun State has the higher number of suits on appeal before the Justices of the Court of Appeal, Akure Division, which has appellate jurisdiction over Osun and Ondo states.

    It was the first time the court, established 10 years ago, would move its sitting to Osun State to take justice closer to the people.

    The other stakeholders, who called for the establishment of the Court of Appeal, include Chief Judge of Osun State, Justice Bola Adepele Ojo; Osun-based Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Mr. Yomi Aliu (SAN), members of the state chapters of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and representative of senior legal practitioners, Mr. Vincent Abiodun Akinleye, among others.

    Oyetola said the Court of Appeal remains a strong pillar of judicial and political expedition.

    “Your Lordships, your current assignment in Osun State is in furtherance of the judiciary’s role as the arbiter and protector of the rule of law.

    “The judiciary has played this role with vigour and unblemished integrity. It has demonstrated to the people that it remains the filtering agent when unscrupulous elements muddle up our judicial waters.

    “The Court of Appeal has established a reputation for itself as the home of landmark judgments in the nation.

    “In furtherance of your resolve to build sustainable democracy and a just and peaceful nation, I urge Your Lordships to continue to uphold the tenets that have endeared you to the people as an institution of nobility, integrity and trust,” Oyetola said.

    The state Chief Judge, Justice Adepele  Ojo, said the unprecedented special session was geared towards the facilitation of easy access to justice and bringing justice to the people.

    She said the establishment of a division of the Court of Appeal in Osun would bring relief to the burden of the many pending cases.

    Aliu (SAN), who spoke on behalf of the senior lawyers, appealed to the President of the Court of Appeal to see the establishment of the Court of Appeal Division in Osun State as an urgent matter.

    The Chairman of NBA, Osogbo Bamidele Ajibade and Chairman NBA Ilesa, Kanmi Ajibola, gave their support to the call.

    The Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal, Akure Judicial Division, Justice Oyebisi Omoleye, promised to take the request for the establishment of the Court of Appeal in Osun to the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa.

    “In a very due course, we will bring to the attention of the President of the Court of Appeal the agitation for the establishment of a Judicial Division of the Court of Appeal in Osun State”, she said.

    Justice Omoleye, who led the three other judges: Justice Muhammed Danjuma; Justice Ridwan Abdullahi and Justice Patricia Ajuna Mahmoud, hailed the governor for his support for the judiciary and the temporary relocation of the Court to Osogbo.

    She added: “Since the period that I have been the head of the Court of Appeal sitting in Akure, I have noticed that Osun has a huge number of appeals in this division.

    “But commendably,  litigants and their counsels flock the Court in Akure on daily basis, sitting sometimes for hours to ensure the hearing and disposal of their matters.

    “It is in appreciation of this great effort and amelioration of the hardship involved that the division has shifted its siting to Osogbo for two sitting weeks.”

  • Osun to team up with Venezuela, Israel, others on economy

    THE Osun State government has unveiled plans to strengthen its economy by creating an enabling environment for business and investment to thrive.

    Governor Adegboyega Oyetola stated this on Wednesday when he received the Venezuela Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. David Nieves Valasquez-Caraballo; envoys from Israel, Cuba, Cote d’Ivoire and Republic of Benin.

    The envoys, who were received on behalf of the governor by Chief of Staff Dr. Charles Diji Akinola and Secretary to the State Government (SSG) Mr. Oluwole Oyebamiji, were among those on a two-day visit to

    Osogbo, the state capital, to attend the International Agriculture Technology Exhibition and Conference tagged “First Agrictech Nigeria”.

    The conference was organised to explore business opportunities in agriculture and to expand the sector.

    Apart from Mr. Valasquez-Caraballo; Cuban Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Carlos Trejo Sosa was represented by the Deputy Head of Mission, Ms. Leydis Bernal Suarez; Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Pear Duchi, was represented by Mr. Madu Chibueze, among others.

    Speaking on behalf of the governor, Akinola said Osun remained resolute to maximise its potentials for greater productivity.

    He said his administration is committed to enhancing Public Private Partnership, thus creating workable environment for business to grow.

    Oyetola said the state is open for business and had mapped out modality to facilitate local and foreign partnership for positive changes across all sectors.

    He added: “We have just had a meeting with ambassadors, who have come to our state to discuss myriads of business opportunities and explore their potentials as regards the need to strengthen bilateral relationship.

    “This administration is giving priority to agriculture, mining, tourism, information and communication technology among others, to ensure proper diversification of the economy.

    Read also: UPDATED Osun gov, Oyetola asks Appeal Court to reverse tribunal’s decision

    “We had a very fruitful session with them; we have reached a compromise on the need to expand the window of business opportunity, particularly in the areas of agriculture, mining, tourism, science and technology.

    “They have shown interest to partner the state in these areas to ensure that Osun achieves her goals.

    The Venezuelan Ambassador said his country was ready to collaborate with the Osun state government to promote agriculture, mining and tourism.

    Valasquez-Caraballo, who described the agriculture exhibition as fruitful, rewarding and adventurous, said no effort would be spared to partner Osun towards actualising its set objectives.

    He said: “We have come to Osun to deliberate on some of the areas in, which we can collaborate and strengthen bilateral relationship.”

  • APC defiant as tribunal voids Oyetola’s election

    The Osun State Governorship Election Tribunal yesterday voided the election of Adegboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Party (APC) as governor of Osun State.

    In a two-to-one split decision by a three-man panel, the tribunal declared Senator Ademola Adeleke of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) winner of the election and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue him with a certificate of return.

    Justice Peter Obiora, who read the majority judgment on the petition by Adeleke and the PDP, held that the petitioners were able to prove their allegations of irregularities and substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act in the conduct of the governorship election in Osun State on September 22 and 27, 2018.

    Justices Obiora and Anyinla Gbolagunte, in the majority judgment, held that the petitioners were able to prove irregularities in the results declared by INEC in relation to 17 polling units that cut across about five local government areas.

    The tribunal Chairman, Justice Ibrahim Sirajo, however, disagreed with the two other judges and gave a minority judgment in which he dismissed the petition on the grounds that the petitioners failed to prove their case.

    Justice Obiora held in the majority judgment that the tribunal was left with no option but to believe that INEC altered results sheets from the 17 polling units after elections had been counted and party agents signed.

    He said the similarity in the alteration in the copies of the result sheets, which were not reflected in the pink copies issued to party agents, and the failure of INEC official to fill the first eight columns of the result sheets, betrayed a fraudulent intention on the party of INEC.

    Justice Obiora proceeded to cancel the results in the 17 polling units affected on the grounds that the petitioners did not only to prove that the non-compliance was substantial, but also that the non-compliance substantially affected the outcome of the election.

    The judge noted that in the 17 polling units, which was cancelled, the APC scored 2029 votes, while the PDP scored 1249 votes.

    Justice Obiora, also in the majority decision, voided the rerun election held on September 27, 2018.

    He held that the state returning officer, who announced the cancellation of election results in the seven polling units cutting across four local governments in which the rerun elections were held, acted outside his/her powers.

    Justice Obiora said a state returning officer has no power under any law to cancel an election and order a rerun.

    He then proceeded to deduct the results cancelled in the majority judgment from the total scores of both the APC and PDP both before and after the rerun election

    Justice Obiora said: “By our earlier calculation, the votes affected by non-compliance are: APC-2,029; PDP-1,246, which we hereby nullify.

    “If the above votes are deducted from the scores of the parties as at September 22, 2018 election, the stand of the parties will be as follows:

    “APC: 254,345 votes, minus 2,029 votes equals 252,315 votes. PDP: 264,698 votes, minus 1,246 votes, equals 253,452 votes.

    “If per chance, the rerun election is found to be valid, and the final scores of the parties declared after the rerun election of September 27, 2018 is allowed to stand, then deducting the votes that were found to be afflicted by non-compliance shall stand the parties in the following scores:

    “APC: 255,505 votes, minus 202,029 votes, equals 253,476 votes. PDP: 255,023 votes, minus the afflicted votes of non-compliance which is 1,246, will give us 253,777 votes.

    “In both situations, it is obvious that the petitioners won the election into the office of the Governor of Osun State.”

    Justice Obiora awarded N200,000 cost against the APC and Oyetola, in favour of the petitioners.

    Sirajo, in minority judgment, said the rerun election of 27th September 2018 was properly held.

    He noted that the petitioners failed to prove that election results were actually conducted in the seven polling units in which the rerun elections were held and that it was the state returning officer that cancelled the result.

    Sirajo also faulted the majority judgment position that the non-recording of accreditation and voting record in the result sheet substantially affected the outcome of the election.

    He held that under Section 140(2) of the Electoral Act, the tribunal lacked the powers to have deducted the cancelled votes and declare the petitioners winners.

    Justice Sirajo said: “It is the law that where there is no accreditation, the resultant votes are unlawful votes as the election itself is null and void.”

    “The legal implication of non-accreditation cannot be applied to the 23 polling units under consideration, in view of the abundant evidence of accreditation in all the 23 poling units through the affirmative evidence of the petitioner witnesses.

    “The non-filing of information in some portion of the result sheets were not sufficient to have prompted the tribunal to cancel the election in the 17 of the 23 polling units under review.

    “In this petition, it is not in dispute that about 90 per cent of the process involved in the conduct of election in a polling unit have been fully complied with. Voters were duly accredited before they cast their votes.

    “At the conclusion of voting, ballot papers were sorted out and counted. The presiding officers announced the votes scored by the parties, entered the figures in the result sheets and signed.

    “The parties’ agents counter-signed the result sheets and collected copies. The only non-compliance is that the collation officer did not record the column for accreditation and ballot accounting. There is no complaint that the poling units were afflicted by any other irregularities

    “I am satisfied that there is non-compliance by way of omission to record the columns accreditation and ballot accounting in the 23 polling units out of the total 3010 polling units. What then is the degree of non-compliance? Has it attained the degree of substantial non-compliance?

    “I hold that the omission to record the column of accreditation and ballot accounting in the result sheet does not amount to substantial non-compliance

    “Merely chorusing that the certified true copies of the result sheets were doctored, altered or mutilated, as did by the petitioners’ witnesses before the tribunal does not amount to demonstration of how the alleged non-compliance substantially affected the results of the election.

    “The net result of my analysis above is that the petitioners have failed to show how the non-compliance, with respect to the recording of the columns for accreditation and ballot accounting in 23 polling units substantially affected the results of the election in those polling units as to lead to their cancellation.

    “In the final analysis, I hold that this specie of non-compliance is not substantial, and even if it is substantial, it has not been proved that it substantially affected the result of the Osun State Governor’s election held on the 22nd September 2018 and 27th September 2018.

    “Let me conclude by saying that even if this specie of non-compliance is found to be substantial, as to substantially affect the results of the election, the tribunal does not have the power to subtract the votes affected by the non-compliance from the scores of the candidates and proceed to declare the candidate with the highest number of votes as the winner of the election. The tribunal does not have that power.

    “This my remark is informed by the provision of Section 140(2) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), which gives the tribunal the power to only order a fresh or rerun election where non-compliance is established.

    “By no stretch of imagination or ingenuity of reasoning can a tribunal import the provision of section 140(3) of the Electoral Act into Section 140(2) of the same Act, where the proved electoral malfeasance is substantial non-compliance.

    “Where the allegation of non-compliance is proved, the tribunal is only permitted to nullify the election and order a supplementary election in order not to disenfranchise voters in the affected polling units in line with the principle of the Act.

    “I only need to add that the order for a supplementary election can only be made where it is expressly asked for.”

    He proceeded to dismiss the petition and awarded cost of N200,000 each in favour of the APC and Oyetola, against the petitioners.

  • UPDATED: Tribunal sacks Oyetola as chair faults judgment

    The Osun State Governorship Election Tribunal on Friday voided the election of Adegboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Party (APC) as governor of Osun State.

    In a two-to-one split decision by a three-man panel, the tribunal declared Senator Ademola Adeleke of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) winner of the election and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue him with a certificate of return.

    Justice Peter Obiora, who read the majority judgement on the petition by Adeleke and the PDP, held that the petitioners were able to prove their allegations of irregularities and substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act in the conduct of the governorship election in Osun State on September 22 and 27, 2018.

    Justices Obiora and Anyinla Gbolagunte, in the majority judgment, held the petitioners were able to prove irregularities in the results declared by INEC in relation to 17 polling Units that cut across about five Local Governments.

    The tribunal Chairman, Justice Ibrahim Sirajo, disagreed with the two other judges and gave a minority judgment in which he dismissed the petition on the grounds that the petitioners failed to prove their case.

    Justice Obiora held, in the majority judgment, that the tribunal was left with no option than to believe that INEC altered results sheets from the 17 polling units after elections had been counted and party agents signed.

    He said the similarity in the alteration in the with copies of the result sheets, which were not reflected in the pink copies issued to party agents, and the failure of INEC official to fill the first eight columns of the result sheets, betrayed a fraudulent intention on the party of INEC.

    Justice Obiora proceeded to cancel the results in the 17 polling units affected on the grounds that the petitioners did not only to prove that the non-compliance was substantial but that the non- compliance substantially affected the outcome of the election.

    The judge noted that, in the 17 polling units, which have been cancelled, the APC scored 2029 votes, while the PDP scored 1249 votes.

    Read also: PDP accuses APC chiefs of mobilising 125 soldiers to constituency

    Justice Obiora also, in the majority decision, voided the rerun election held on September 27, 2018.

    He held that the state returning officer, who announced the cancellation of election results in the seven polling units, cut across four Local Governments, in which the rerun elections were held, acted outside his/her powers.

    Justice Obiora said a state returning officer has no power under any law to cancel an election and order a rerun.

    He then proceeded to deduct the results cancelled in the majority judgment, from the total scores of both the APC and PDP both before and after the rerun election

    Justice Obiora said: “By our earlier calculation, the votes affected by non-compliance are: APC – 2,029; PDP- 1,246 which we hereby nullify.

    “If the above votes are deducted from the scores of the parties as at September 22, 2018 election, the stand of the parties will be as follows:

    “APC: 254,345 votes, minus 2,029 votes equal 252,315 votes. PDP: 264,698 votes, minus 1,246 votes equal 253,452 votes.

    “If per chance, the rerun election is found to be valid, and the final scores of the parties declared after the rerun election of September 27, 2018 is allowed to stand, then deducting the votes that were found to be afflicted by non-compliance shall stand the parties in the following scores:

    “APC: 255,505 votes, minus 202,029 votes, equal 253,476 votes. PDP: 255,023 votes, minus the afflicted votes of non-compliance which is 1,246, will give us 253,777 votes.

    “In both situations, it is obvious that the petitioners won the election into the office of the Governor of Osun State.”

    Justice Obiora awarded N200, 000 costs against the APC and Oyetola, in favour of the petitioners.

    Sirajo, in minority judgment, said the rerun election of 27th September 2018 was properly held.

    He noted that the petitioners failed to prove that election results were actually conducted in th seven polling units in which the rerun elections were held and that it was the state returning officer that cancelled the result.

    Sirajo also faulted the majority judgment position that the non-recording of accreditation and voting record in the result sheet substantially affected the outcome of the election.

    He held that under Section 140(2) of the Electoral Act, the tribunal lacked the powers to have deducted the cancelled votes and declare the petitioners winners.

    Justice Sirajo said: “It is the law that where there is no accreditation, the resultant votes are unlawful votes as the election itself is null and void”

    “The legal implication of non-accreditation can not be applied to the 23 polling units under consideration, in view of the abundant evidence of accreditation in all the 23 poling units through the affirmative evidence of the petitioner witnesses.

    “The non-filing of information in some portion of the result sheets were not sufficient to have prompted the tribunal to cancel the election in the 17 of the 23 polling units under review.

    “In this petition, it is not in dispute that about 90 per cent of the process involved in the conduct of election in a polling unit have been fully complied with. Voters were duly accredited before they cast their votes.

    “At the conclusion of voting, ballot papers were sorted out and counted. The presiding officers announced the votes scored by the parties, entered the figures in the result sheets and signed.

    “The parties agents counter-signed the result sheets and collected copies. The only non-compliance is that the collation officer did not record the column for accreditation and ballot accounting. There is no complaint that the poling units were afflicted by any other irregularities

    “I am satisfied that there is non-compliance by was of omission to record the columns accreditation and ballot accounting in the 23 polling units out of the total 3010 polling units. What then is the degree of non-compliance? Has it attain the degree of substantial non-compliance?

    “I hold that the omission to record the column of accreditation and ballot accounting in the result sheet does not amount to substantial non-compliance

    “Merely chorusing that the certified true copies of the result sheets were doctored, altered or mutilated, as did by the petitioners’ witnesses before the tribunal does not amount to demonstration of how the alleged non-compliance substantially affected the results of the election.

    “The net result of my analysis above is that the petitioners have failed to show how the non-compliance, with respect to the recording of the columns for accreditation and ballot account in 23 polling units substantially affected the results of the election in those polling units as to lead to their cancellation.

    “In the final analysis, I hold that this specie of non-compliance is not substantial an even if it is substantial, it has not been proved that it substantially affected the result of the Osun State Governors election held on the 22nd September 2018 and 27th September 2018.

    “Let me conclude by say that even if this specie of non-compliance is found to be substantial, as to substantially affect the results of the election, the tribunal does not have the power to subtract the votes affected by the non-compliance from the scores of the candidates and proceed to declare the candidate with the highest number of votes as the winner of the election. The tribunal does not have that power.

    “This my remark is informed by the provision of Section 140(2) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), which gives the tribunal the power to only order a fresh or rerun election where non-compliance is established.

    “By no stretch of imagination or ingenuity of reasoning can a tribunal import the provision of section 140(3) of the Electoral into Section 140(2) of the same Act, where the proved electoral malfeasance is substantial non-compliance.

    “Where the allegation of non-compliance is proved, the tribunal is only permitted to nullify the election and order a supplementary election in order not to disenfranchise voters in the affect polling units in line with the principle of the Act.

    “I only need to add that the order for a supplementary election can only be made where it is expressly asked for,” Justice Sirajo said.

    He proceeded to dismiss the petition and awarded cost of N200, 000 each in favour of the APC and Oyetola against the petitioners.

  • Tribunal fixes judgment for Friday in Osun governorship dispute

    The Osun State Governorship Election Tribunal sitting in Apo, Abuja has scheduled Friday for judgment in the petition by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the September 2018 governorship election held in the state, Senator Ademola Adeleke.

    PDP and Adeleke are, by their petition, challenging the declaration of Adegboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    The date for the judgment was communicated to parties via hearing notices sent to them on Tuesday to that effect by the tribunal’s secretariat, a copy of which The Nation sighted in Abuja.

    Read Also: INEC ad hoc staff protest over unpaid allowances

    Tribunal Chairman, Justice Ibrahim Sirajo had, on March 7, after parties adopted their final written addresses, announced that judgment in the case would be reserved till a later date.

    Justice Sirajo said parties will be informed, at least, 48 hours before the date of delivery of the judgment.

    Wole Olanipekun (SAN) appeared for Oyetola; Akin Olujinmi (SAN) represented the APC while Lasco Pwahomdi appeared for INEC on March 7.

    The petitioners’ legal team was led by Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN).

    In adopting their separate final addresses, Olanipekun, Olujinmi and Pwahomdi urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition on the grounds that the petitioners have failed to prove their case.

    On his part, Ikpeazu urged the tribunal to uphold the petition and grant all the reliefs prayed by the petitioners.

    Olanipekun, while adopting his final address, noted that the petition was full of confusing claims and betrayed the petitioners’ lack of understanding of the nation’s election petition jurisprudence.

    In identifying what he described as the many contradictions in the petition, Olanipekun noted that “in pages 37, 38 and 39, the petitioners are presenting a different case entirely from their pleadings. The petition is a bedlam of confusion.”

    Olanipekun noted that the petitioners have admitted breaching the electoral law by seeking that some of their votes be quashed.

    He added: “They are also asking the tribunal to quash some of their votes. A self-confessed petitioner, who has in writing, admitted infringing the law, cannot be asking to be returned as a winner of the election.

    “In their relief seven, they want the court to nullify the certificate of return, but they failed to present the certificate before the tribunal. Where is that certificate? Can the tribunal nullify what is not before it?

    “They said the certificate of return is with us. If it is with us, should they not have given us a notice to produce it? They did not give us notice to produce,” Olanipekun said.

    He relied on a decision of the Court of Appeal given on Wednesday in the motion filed by the presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar and urged the tribunal to decline the petitioners’ prayer to void the guideline issued by INEC for the conduct of the election.

    In similar argument, Olujinmi faulted the evidence given by 63 polling agents called as witnesses by the petitioners.

    He noted that, though the petitioners called 80 witnesses in all, 63, who were polling unit agents gave common evidence by saying similar things and using almost exactly the same words.

    Olujinmi also argued the the evidence by the petitions’ 74th witness, who was the state polling agent, amounted to hearsay evidence because he admitted getting the information from the documents submitted to him.

    He urged the tribunal to ignore the various documents tendered by the petitioners, which he said they merely dumped on the tribunal without demonstrating their link to the case.

    Olujinmi also noted contradictions in the case of the petitioners and the evidence they led.

    He noted that while the petitioners want the tribunal to declare them winner of the first part of the election held on September 22, 2018 and void the supplementary election held on September 27, 2018, their 74th witness said they have no cause of action as it relates to the election of September 22, 2018.

    Ikpeazu, in his counter argument, urged the tribunal to disregard the issues raised by the respondents’ lawyers.

    He faulted the written addresses by the 2nd and 3rd respondents, which he argued, were not filed as required by law.

    Ikpeazu said there was no confusion as it relates to the case of the petitioners. He said the respondents’ claim of existence of confusion betrayed their misunderstanding of the case.

    Ikpeazu said the petitioners’ case was that, based of the result of the election of September 22, the 1st petitioner, having satisfied provision of Section 179(2) of the Constitution, ought to be declared as having won.

    He faulted the respondents’ argument that the petitioners dumped documents on the tribunal.

    Ikpeazu argued that the petitioners have effectively demonstrated all the documents tendered, including the certified true copies of the result sheets, which he said, were riddled with alterations.

    He queried the powers of INEC to alter election results and urged the tribunal to grant the petitioners’ prayers.

  • Oyetola appoints SSG, Chief of Staff

    Osun State Governor Adegboyega Oyetola yesterday made three major appointments.

    The appointments are: Prince Oluwole Oyebamiji as Secretary to the State Government (SSG); Dr. Charles Diji Akinola as Chief of Staff (CoS) to the Governor and Mr. Adeyanju Abdullah Binuyo as Deputy Chief of Staff.

    A statement by Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Adeniyi Adesina, said the appointments take immediate effect.

    Prince Oyebamiji is a 1987 graduate of Theatre Arts of the University of Ibadan.

    He is a former Permanent Secretary, one-time General Manager, Osun State Broadcasting Corporation (OSBC) and erstwhile full-time Commissioner in the Osun State Civil Service Commission.

    Read also: Oyetola, Makinde pledge support for LAUTECH

    Dr. Akinola is an alumnus of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a Fellow of the Weatherhead Centre for International Affairs, Harvard University. He has a wealth of experience in international development, public policy and cross-sector partnerships.

    Binuyo obtained a B.Sc. and MSc. from the University of Lagos. He attended several trainings at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom, Tias University in the Netherlands and the National University of Ireland.

    Binuyo has a deep experience in development finance, project and human management in the public and private sectors.

  • Oyetola appoints SSG, CoS

    Osun State Governor Adegboyega Oyetola on Thursday made three major appointments.

    These are: Prince Oluwole Oyebamiji as Secretary to the State Government (SSG).

    Dr. Charles Diji Akinola as Chief of Staff (CoS) to the Governor and Mr. Adeyanju Abdullah Binuyo as Deputy Chief of Staff.

    A statement by Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Adeniyi Adesina, said the appointments take immediate effect.

    Prince Oyebamiji is a 1987 graduate of Theatre Arts of the University of Ibadan.

    He is a former Permanent Secretary, one-time General Manager, Osun State Broadcasting Corporation (OSBC), and erstwhile full-time Commissioner in the Osun State Civil Service Commission.

    Dr. Akinola is an alumnus of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a Fellow of the Weatherhead Centre for International Affairs, Harvard University. He has a wealth of experience in international development, public policy and cross-sector partnerships.

    He was for many years Country Director, TechnoServe, an international development organisation reputed for its work in agriculture value chains and agribusinesses, and later Executive Director, Enterprise for Development International.

    Dr Akinola was the Director General, Office of Economic Development and Partnerships which is responsible for spearheading cross sector partnerships between the state, national and international investors and partners. He was the Chairman of the State Planning Commission and had variously supervised the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, and the Ministry of Regional Integration in the State.

    Binuyo obtained a B.Sc. and MSc. from the University of Lagos.

    He attended several trainings at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom, Tias University in the Netherlands and the National University of Ireland.

    Binuyo has deep experience in development finance, project and human management in the public and private sectors.

    He was the Senior Special Assistant on MDGs to the immediate past Administration. Prior to that, he had being a consultant to the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs. In 2015, he was Technical Adviser to the Transition Committee of President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari.

    Until recently, he was Chief of Staff to Minister of Communications Mr.Adebayo Shittu.

  • Breaking: Osun gov closes case at tribunal after 11 witnesses

    *APC to open defence, Feb 6

    Osun State Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola has closed his defence before the state’s governorship election tribunal, sitting in Abuja.

    Oyetola, who is the second respondent in the petition filed by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the last governorship election in Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke, closed his case on Tuesday, after calling 11 witnesses.

    PDP and Adeleke are challenging the outcome of the election won by Oyetola, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Read Also; Osun tribunal: ‘INEC is allowed to rectify errors in result sheets’

    Oyetola had, on February 1 this year, after calling his 11th witness – Adegboyega Rasaki Adeosunn, who acted as APC’s State Collation Officer during the election, promised to call four more on Monday.

    At the resumption of proceedings on Monday, Oyetola”s lawyer, John Baiyeshea (SAN) told the tribunal that his client did not see any reason to call more witnesses and has decided to close his case.

    Tribunal’s Chairman, Justice Ibrahim Sirajo adjourned to Wednesday for the third respondent, APC to open its defence.

  • Osun tribunal: ‘INEC is allowed to rectify errors in result sheets’

    The Osun State Governorship Election Tribunal has been told the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is allowed to rectify discrepancies in entries in election result sheets.

    Three witnesses called by Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of Osun State, at the resumed sitting of the tribunal on Thursday in Abuja, said they were were trained on the operation of INEC’s Manual and Electoral Guidelines before they were engaged at agents of the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the election.

    The witnesses – Bello Mukaila, Olatitoye Sodeeq, Iyiola Ismail – (who served as APC polling agent in Osogbo and Ikire) said they learnt, at the training, that INEC reserve the right to correct errors in result sheets.

    They also identified some of the result sheets where such discrepancies were corrected. Some of the result sheets were from polling units won by both APC and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

    The tribunal is hearing the petition by the PDP and its candidate in the last governorship election in Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke.

    Adeleke witnessed the tribunal’s proceedings on Thursday. He sat from beginning of proceedings (10am) to around 12 noon.

    Read Also: Help us douse tension, INEC begs religious leaders

    The legal team of the PDP and Adeleke got an additional hand on Thursday with the attendance of proceedings by former Attorney General of thew Federation (AGF), Kanu Agabi (SAN).

    Agabi only announced his appearance, but allowed Onyechi Ikpeazu to conduct the case of the petitioners.

    Wole Olanipekun (who led Oyetola’s legal team) also allowed Abiodun Owonikoko (SSAN) to conduct his client’s proceedings. He only intervened when necessary.

    Olanipekun contributed to argument, in favour of the 3rd respondent (APC) when Ikpeazu objected to the move by APC’s lawyer, Lasun Sanusi (SAN) to tender a copy of INEC’s Manual and Electoral Guideline through Mukaila.

    In a ruling, the tribunal, led by Justice Ibrahim Sirajo upheld the argument by Olanipekun and Sanusi and admitted the document in evidence.

    At the commencement of proceedings, Justice Sirajo advised Ikpeazu to be organised. The judge’s advice was informed by the discrepancies noted in the list of lawyers he submitted to court and the one with him.

    Ikpeazu announced the names of some lawyers in his team and left some out, an omission the judge noted from the list submitted to the tribunal.

    The tribunal Chairman later called out the names of about five lawyers, who were omitted by Ikpeazu, following which the petitioners’ lawyer apologized.

    Justice Sirajo then said: “Get more organised please, get more organised. That is all I have to say for today, get more organised.”

    The tribunal rose at about 12.30pm, after Olanipekun announced that the 2nd defendants was done for the day.

    Proceedings resumes on Friday at 10am.