A’Court rules on Mimiko election today
JULY 1, 2013
Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko
The Akure Division of the Court of Appeal will today, deliver its judgment on the appeals filed before it against the verdict of the Ondo Election Petitions Tribunal that upheld the re-election of Governor Olusegun Mimiko, for a second term in office.
The Presiding Judge, Justice M.L. Garba, would lead a five-member panel to either uphold the judgment of the Justice Andovar Kaka’an led three member panel which declared Mimiko winner of the October 20, 2012 election in the state, or upturn it.
The development followed the adoption of written addresses by counsel for the petitioners and the defendants and the conclusion of the necessary legal process by the various parties in the appeal.
The Appellate Court is delivering its judgment 60 days after the tribunal delivered its verdict.
However, counsel for the various parties and officials of the affected political parties confirmed to our correspondent on Sunday evening that they had received notifications concerning the judgment from the Appellate Court.
The Action Congress of Nigeria candidate in the election, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, and his Peoples Democratic Party counterpart, Chief Olusola Oke, had filed separate appeals against the tribunal’s verdict which was delivered in favour of Mimiko, who contested the poll on the platform of the Labour Party.
Akeredolu’s lead counsel, Chief Akinlolu Olujimi, had last week, during adoption of addresses, urged the court to uphold the appeal as the tribunal erred by dismissing his petition without considering the merit.
He said, “The central issue in this appeal is the 2012 voter register, which we discovered was not used on election day after having been assured by the Independent National Electoral Commission that it is the valid register for the poll.”
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