Why Court Dismissed Petitions Challenging Sanwo-Olu’s Victory

The Lagos State Election Petition Tribunal Sitting in the Ikeja area has dismissed the Petitions filed by the Labour Party (LP), and the Alliance for Democracy (AD) challenging the return of Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu as the Governor of Lagos in the March 9 polls.

The tribunal dismissed both petitions for lack of merit.

Labour Party & its Governorship Candidate, Ifagbemi Awamaridi as well the Alliance for Democracy & its Candidate, Owolabi Salis had in two separate petitions challenged the outcome of the Governorship polls.

Apart from the Lagos State Government, other respondents to the petition were; the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the All Progressive Congress (APC), the Resident Electoral Commissioner, The Returning Officer, Lagos State Governorship Election, The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State and the Nigerian Army.

In the petitions, the petitioners asked the tribunal to grant the will of Lagosians by cancelling what they termed the “fraudulent election of Gov. Sanwo-Olu”.

But the three man tribunal led by Justice Terhemen Asua described the Petitions as a “futile and wasteful exercise”, noting that the Petitioners could not prove the allegations of electoral malpractices and mental incompetence made against Gov. Sanwo-Olu.

The Tribunal, therefore, declared that Babajide Sanwo-Olu was validly & properly elected Governor of Lagos State.