It seems the governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun will face multiple challenges in validating his victory as governor for a second term, as an inside source revealed that the governor is now jittery that he may loose his seat owing to the legal cases instituted by his opponents in law courts over the April 11 2015 gubernatorial election.
Apart from the standard bearer of the People Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Gboyega Nasiru Isiaka (GNI) who is expecting judgement today at the Ogun State Election Petition Tribunal where he prayed the Tribunal to cancel elections in 9 of the 20 local government areas of the State, alleging massive rigging, irregularities and non compliance with electoral rules, while urging the tribunal to declare him winner of the April 11 election, another road block mounted against Amosun is from the candidate of the Mega Progressive People Party (MPPP), Mrs Iyabo Ogunmefun
Sometimes in May 2015, Mrs Ogunmefun had asked the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abeokuta, Ogun State to nullify the re-election of Governor Ibikunle Amosun for excluding the party and its standard bearer in the State from the April 11 gubernatorial polls.
The MPPP had in a petition dated April 24, 2015 and signed by it’s National Chairman, Hamisu Santuraki and counsel to the party, Dayo Solaja (SAN) sought the order of the Tribunal to direct INEC to conduct a fresh governorship election in the state on the ground that it’s governorship candidate, Mrs Iyabode Ogunmefun was validly nominate and was “unlawfully excluded” from the April governorship election by the INEC, among other reliefs which also included that the Tribunal should set aside the result of the election conducted by INEC on April 11 which returned Governor Amosun and his running mate as well as the withdrawal of the certificate of return issued to them.
Though the case had little mention in the media, and after reviewing the petition, the tribunal threw the case away on technical grounds. MPPP went to the Appeal court which also threw out the appeal. But determined to get justice, Mrs Iyabode Ogunmefun went to the Supreme Court and in the wisdom of the Justices of the Supreme Court, it was unanimously agreed that the tribunal and appeal court erred in their judgements and ordered the President of the Court of Appeal to direct the Election Petition Tribunal in Ogun State to hear the MPPP petition on its merit.
The judgment of the Supreme Court has however thrown the All Progressive Congress (APC) and governor Ibikunle Amosun into Confusion while other opposition parties have been jubilating.
“The MPPP has a case and we expect that a rerun of the Ogun State governorship election will be ordered eventually. That is when we will know which party will win the election “, a political analyst informed us.
Meanwhile, an insider in governor Amosun’s cabinet told our reporter that Amosun has been sending emissaries to Mrs Iyabode Ogunmefun to withdraw the case and be compensated, but the woman, we learnt, has remained adamant, that all she wants is a rerun of the election and won’t mind if she losses.
