Ondo Election Petition Tribunal begins sitting

Legal battle over the victory of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa in the November 16 governorship election in Ondo State has commenced at the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.

The PDP and its candidate, Agboola Ajayi are challenging the election results over alleged irregularities.

The PDP and it’s candidate also questioned the qualifications of the APC candidates, Lucky Ayedatiwa and his running mate.

Other petitioners are the Social Democratic Party, SDP, and the African Democratic Congress, ADC.

They are asking the Tribunal to invalidate the election because the results did not reflect the wish of the electorates.

However, the respondents, in their replies, said the issue of qualifications has been determined at the Federal High Court and the Federal Court of Appeal.

They asked the Tribunal to dismiss the petitions.

All parties have agreed to call 149 witnesses to prove their case.

At the inaugural sitting and pretrial conference, the Tribunal sought the cooperation of lawyers during the trial.

The chairman of the tribunal, Justice Benson Ogbu assured all parties involved in the matters of fair hearing.

He warned against preempting the tribunal’s decisions or addressing the press prematurely.

The tribunal has fixed February the 10th for continuation of the matter.