Vote buying allegation: Ogun governorship election petition tribunal sets date for ruling

The Ogun State governorship election petition tribunal has set 19 June 2023 for determination on whether to entertain counter allegations of vote buying raised by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The court announced this at its sitting on Tuesday in Isabo, Abeokuta, the state capital.

Counsel to the APC candidate, Governor Dapo Abiodun, Taiwo Osipitan, had accused the PDP candidate, Ladi Adebutu, of vote buying, while counsel to the petitioner, Goddy Uche, also accused the APC of the same.

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Uche said although the allegation of vote buying was not originally in the petition, he was compelled to also reply that the APC was the one that engaged in vote buying.

But Osipitan said the PDP cannot add a new allegation into its petition“as it will amount to an expansion of the PDP petition.”

It will be recalled that the APC had accused Ladi Adebutu, the candidate of the PDP, of buying votes with prepaid Verve ATM cards during the 18th March governorship election.

A police investigation into a petition to the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, containing the allegation indicted Adebutu and others, and they have since been charged with the alleged offence before the state high court.

Also, the IGP had reportedly directed the police commissioner in the state, Olanrewaju Oladimeji, to investigate another petition by the PDP claiming that Governor Abiodun loaded N5 billion on bank-linked vouchers to buy votes during the same election.

Speaking with journalists after the sitting, Osipitan said he would wait for the tribunal to decide on the matter, saying it only behoves him to challenge.

On his part, Uche also said, “We have argued all the motions except one for which we will be back tomorrow to argue, and after tomorrow maybe the tribunal will give us a date for trial.

“We have brought a motion to expunge their vote-buying allegation because they can’t make such allegation, it is not expected to be in their reply. If they want to make that allegation, they should have filed a cross-petition, and that is our objection. Although they are not sounding serious about it, we asked the court to strike it out.”

The chairperson of the three-member panel, Hamidu Kunaza, however, adjourned to 19th June for a ruling on the motion.