Tribunal Grants Leave To PDP Governorship Candidate For Substituted Service on Sanwo-Olu, Rhodes-Vivour

The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Azeez Adediran (alias Jandor), has been granted leave to effect service of election petition on the incumbent governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, through substituted means.

The leave was granted by the Lagos State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Ikeja which equally allowed Adediran to do the same for the governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour.

The respondents in the petition numbered EPT/LAG/GOV/01/2023 are the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Sanwo-Olu, Sanwo-Olu’s Deputy, Dr Hamzat Obafemi; APC, Rhodes-Vivour and Labour Party (LP).

Adediran and his party, PDP, through their counsel, Mr Austin Akpomreta, had told the Tribunal that he was unable to effect personal service of the petition on Sanwo-Olu, Hamzat and Rhodes-Vivour.

He had equally informed the Tribunal that the respondents were not physically present to receive the court process.

Adediran urged the Tribunal to grant him leave to serve the petition and other processes on the governor and his deputy through any officer or the secretary of APC in its Lagos State Secretariat at No. 151, Acme Road, Ikeja.

The PDP guber candidate had equally prayed the court to grant him leave to serve the petition and other processes on Rhodes-Vivour through any officer or secretary of LP in its Lagos State Secretariat at No. 59, Oduduwa Way, GRA, Lagos.

In the petition, Adediran and PDP claimed that Sanwo-Olu and his Deputy, Hamzat, were, at the time of the election, not qualified to contest.

Adediran and PDP also submitted that Rhodes-Vivour, declared by INEC to have scored the second-highest number of votes at the Feb. 25 gubernatorial election, was, at the time of the election, also not qualified to contest.

The PDP governorship candidate called for the disqualification of Sanwo-Olu and Rhodes-Vivour in the election for non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2022 and INEC’s guidelines.

Adediran and PDP also asked that all votes cast for the two candidates in the election should be declared wasted.

The Tribunal granted all the reliefs as canvassed by the PDP governorship candidate.

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