The Ekiti State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal on Wednesday in Abuja adjourned for judgment.
The tribunal, led by Justice Suleiman Belgore, adjourned indefinitely but told parties they would be informed 48 hours before the day to be set for the delivery of the judgment.
Justice Belgore announced the adjournment on Wednesday after parties adopted their final written addresses and prayed the tribunal to grant their prayers.
The tribunal Chairman praised the conduct of lawyers and parties in the case. He particularly noted that the senior lawyers were professional and mature in their conduct.
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the last governorship election in Ekiti State, Professor Kolapo Olusola are challenging the outcome of the election won by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Kayode Fayemi.
Listed as petitioners in the petition marked: EPT/EKS/GOV/01/18 are PDP and Olusola, while the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), APC and Fayemi are listed as respondents Charles Edosomwan (SAN), Akin Olujinmi (SAN) and Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) adopted the final addresses by INEC, APC and Fayemi.
Edosomwan, Olujinmi and Fagbemi urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition by the PDP and Olusola on the ground that they failed to prove their allegations that the election was flawed and was not held in substantial compliance with Electoral Act.
They also faulted the petitioners’ argument that Fayemi was not qualified to have contested the election because he was allegedly indicted in a report by a commission of inquiry constituted by the Ekiti State Government to probe Fayemi’s first term in office as the state governor.
Edosomwan, Olujinmi and Fagbemi, in separate arguments, contended that, although the petitioners raised criminal allegations of votes’ manipulation, they failed to meet the standard of proof required to sustain such allegations.
They also adopted their separate notices of objection, in which the respondents prayed the tribunal to strike out some paragraphs in the petition on the grounds that they are vague.
Edosonman, who identified six issues for the tribunal’s determination, argued that the first issue, relating to Fayemi’s qualification, was beyond questioning.
He contended that the document the petitioners had
