Former Borno State Deputy Governor, Adamu Shettima Yuguda Dibal, appeared before the Lagos State Election Petition Tribunal on Tuesday. Dibal, who chaired the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary election in Lagos State, provided testimony regarding the primary election that led to the selection of Babajide Sanwo-Olu as the APC Governorship Candidate for the 2023 General Elections.
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate for the March 18 governorship poll are contesting Sanwo-Olu’s re-election as the state governor. During the proceedings, Dibal, led by counsel Bode Olanipekun (SAN), testified that the Lagos State Chairman of the APC, Mr Cornelius Ojelabi, had not violated any electoral regulations when he notified the Lagos State Office of INEC in writing about the party’s primary election.
Under cross-examination by Clement Onwuenwunor (SAN), counsel to the PDP Governorship Candidate Abdulazeez Adediran, the witness confirmed that Ojelabi was not the national chairman of the APC at the time he wrote the letter on May 24, 2022.
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Dibal explained that the APC’s National Working Committee (NWC) was responsible for establishing state committees to conduct primary elections in all 36 states. When questioned by APC counsel Babatunde Ogala (SAN), the witness stated that Ojelabi had simply informed the INEC office that the NWC had formed a five-member committee, with him as the Chairman, to oversee the primary election in Lagos State. Dibal also mentioned that he submitted a report on the primary election to the APC’s national secretariat after its conclusion.
In response to INEC’s counsel Adetunji Oyeyipo (SAN), the witness confirmed that representatives from INEC’s headquarters and its Lagos Office were present during the primary election and had signed a report on its conduct.
The Labour Party and its candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, did not cross-examine the witness. The tribunal, presided over by Justice Arum Ashom, subsequently dismissed the witness and directed the APC to present its defense on July 12.
Adediran’s petition accuses the governor of presenting a forged West African School Certificate to INEC and claims that Hamzat did not include an oath declaration in his INEC Nomination Form EC9. Additionally, Adediran alleges that the APC did not adhere to the Electoral Act when nominating Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat. Adediran, who finished third in the governorship election, concluded his case on July 4 after presenting oral and documentary evidence.
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