Election Tribunal Sacks Kashamu, 6 Other PDP Lawmakers…We’re Appealing Ruling- Sacked Senator

The National and State Houses of Assembly Elections Petitions Tribunal sitting in Isabo, Abeokuta the Ogun state capital today defied the tense atmosphere within the court premises to annull the election of Senator Buruji Kashamu, who represents Ogun East in the upper chamber of the National Assembly on the platform of the PDP.

The tribunal also set aside the elections of a member of the House of Representatives and five other House of Assembly members on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.

Apart from his current plight, Kashamu has been fighting an extradition process filed by the federal government following a legal request from the United States for the extradition of the PDP chief over alleged drug trafficking related offences.

The Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Tobi Ebiowei however ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to conduct fresh elections in 110 polling units of Kashamu’s Ogun East Senatorial District within the next 90 days.

Justice Ebiowei who led a three-man panel of the tribunal to deliver the verdicts, also ordered INEC to take into cognisance during the conduct of the fresh polls the 146,533 valid votes cast during the March 28, 2015 National Assembly polls in the Ogun East senatorial district.

Delivering judgment on the petition brought against Kashamu’s election by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Mr. Dapo Abiodun, the tribunal chairman however said, “We do not feel comfortable to nullify elections in Ogun East when 146,533 votes are valid because of 37,008 unlawful votes.”

Abiodun had in his petition before the tribunal alleged that Kashamu’s election had failed to comply with the 2010 Electoral Act. He also alleged irregularities and malpractices were perpetrated during the March 28 election won by Kashamu.

The tribunal also annulled the election of Mr. Adekoya Adesegun, the member representing Ijebu North/Ogun Waterside/Ijebu East Federal Constituency and ordered INEC to conduct a fresh election in 222 polling units of the constituency within the next 90 days.

On the petitions arising from the conduct of the April 11 House of Assembly elections in the state, the tribunal ordered the conduct of fresh polls in Ijebu-Ode, Ijebu East, Ipokia and Ijebu North state constituencies.

The tribunal ordered rerun in 14 polling units in Wards 6 and 7 in Ijebu Ode State Constituency where a former deputy speaker of the state Assembly, Tola Banjo had challenged the return of Wale Alausa as the winner of the election.

Also giving its verdict on the Ijebu East House of Assembly election won by PDP’s Adejunwon O. Oyenuga, the tribunal ordered the conduct of fresh elections in 7 units where allegations of irregularities were proved. Bola Akeem Badejo of the APC had petitioned the tribunal praying for the nullification of Oyenuga’s election and his declaration as the winner.

The tribunal declared that having analysed the petition it observed irregularities and manipulation in some areas and therefore nullified the results in the affected units. It therefore ordered a rerun in those polling units.

Also delivering its verdict on the state assembly election in Ipokia state constituency, the tribunal annulled elections in 38 units, and ordered fresh election to be conducted in the areas affected. The petitioner, Sewanu Felicia Towakennu-Olatunde of the APC had challenged INEC’s declaration of Adebowale Vinwanu Ojo of the PDP as the winner of the poll.

The tribunal stated that the irregularities observed in 38 polling units were enough to discredit the results of the entire election and therefore ordered a fresh election in the affected areas within 90 days.

Regarding the petition filed over the election into the Ijebu North 1 State Constituency, the decision of the tribunal was split with the majority verdict annulling part of the election. The tribunal ordered a rerun in 67 polling units where irregularities were proved to have occurred during the polls.

The petitioner, Adebayo Adebola of the APC had dragged Oluyinka Solaja Bowale of the PDP declared winner of the election by INEC before the tribunal. Solaja was also a member of the state assembly in the last legislature.

A member of the three-man panel of judges however disagreed with the majority judgment, affirming, “I find no merit in the petition and hereby uphold the result of the respondent.”

The petition brought by the APC candidate from Ijebu North East, Abayomi Fasua against the victory of Olujimi Otukoya of the PDP, was however dismissed and the result of the poll upheld. The tribunal chairman declared,”It is our view that for any petition to succeed for non compliance, it must not be on the document but the lead.

“The law is settled on this case and we are of the view that there is no link between the document and the evidence of the witnesses. The petition is hereby dismissed and the return of the winner is upheld.”

Meanwhile, the sacked Senator, Prince Buruji Kashamu has said the judgment of the tribunal has not sacked him from office. Kashamu in a statement by his Media Adviser, Austin Oniyokor stated that the judgment of the tribunal was being misconstrued and misunderstood by the media. He however vowed that the judgment of the tribunal would be contested at the Court of Appeal.

The statement reads in part, “Our attention has been draw to some media reports that the Senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District, Prince Buruji Kashamu, was today sacked by the Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. We wish to say that this is not a true reflection of what transpired at the tribunal.

“Although the tribunal has said the full judgment will be made available on Monday, it could not be said to have sacked Kashamu because, according to it, after the removal of voided votes, Kashamu is still leading with 5,179 votes.

“According to the tribunal’s findings, Kashamu has 75,856 votes against Dapo Abiodun’s 70,677 votes. So how can the person leading be said to have been “sacked”? For who? The losing candidate? We think not. Besides, the rerun was ordered in 110 out of over 1,135 polling units in the senatorial district.

“Certainly, we are going to test veracity of the tribunal’s verdict at the Court of Appeal. The tribunal has given its judgment, but it is not the end of the road. That is the beauty of the judicial process.”