The Oyo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has admitted results from 495 polling units and wards in 26 Local Government Areas as exhibits tendered by the governorship candidate of All Progressives Congress, Adebayo Adelabu.
Adelabu is challenging the victory of the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Seyi Makinde, in the March 9 governorship election in the state as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that APC’s counsel, Mr Rolard Otaru (SAN), had on Monday tendered results from 266 polling units and wards in 23 Local Government Area before the tribunal which admitted them as exhibits.
At the resumed hearing on Tuesday, the results of three more LGs were also tendered before the tribunal, bringing the number of results of disputed polling units to 495 in 26 LGs.
Otaru informed the court that the tendered documents were true certified copies of Form EC8 for different polling units and wards obtained from INEC in respect to the March 9 governorship election in the state.
He urged the tribunal to admit all the documents tendered in evidence as exhibits.
Makinde’s counsel, Mr Kenechi Ikpeazu (SAN) and INEC’s counsel, Mr Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), however,
told the tribunal that they were reserving objection to the admissibility of all the documents tendered by Otaru.
The three-man panel chaired by Justice Sirajo Muhammed admitted the documents as exhibits, adding that the tribunal would now be sitting from Monday to Friday.
It would be recalled that INEC had declared Makinde as the winner of the governorship election in Oyo State after polling 515,621 votes to defeat Adelabu of the APC who had 357,982 votes.
(NAN)
