TheCable

The Oyo state governorship election petition tribunal has dismissed an application filed by Adebayo Adelabu, governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to recount all the ballot papers used in the March 9 election.

Adelabu and the APC are challenging the declaration of Seyi Makinde, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as winner of the state governorship election.

Adelabu through his counsel, Titus Asaolu, had filed an application seeking to recount all the ballot papers used during the election.

But delivering judgement on Monday, Sirajo Muhammed, the judge, dismissed the application, saying it would jeopardise the respondents’ right to a fair hearing.

Mohammed said the petitioners were only challenging the result of a few local government areas and not all the 33 local government areas of the state.

The judge said filling an application now to count all the ballot papers used in the election would amount to amending the petitioners’ pleadings.

He said the time allowed to amend pleadings of all parties had elapsed and no pleadings can be amended at this stage.

Mohammed also noted that the petitioners were not consistent on the date the election was conducted as they were quoting different dates in their application.

The judge, therefore, dismissed the application and fixed June 10 for the commencement of the hearing, adding that pre-hearing had ended.