Ogun Governorship: Appeal Court reserves judgment in Akinlabi’s appeal against Abiodun

The Court of Appeal in Ibadan has reserved judgment in an appeal filed by Adekunle Akinlade of Allied People’s Movement (APM) against the victory of Dapo Abiodun of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the March 9 governorship election in Ogun State.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Akinlade appealed the September 4 judgment of the Election Petition Tribunal in Abeokuta that upheld the victory of Mr Abiodun as the Ogun State governor.

NAN reports that other respondents in the appeal are the APC and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The five-member panel of the appeal court, presided over by Abubakar Yahaya, reserved judgment after listening to the argument of all the parties.

Mr Yahaya said that judgment that would be communicated to the counsel.

Earlier, the lead Counsel to APM, Sebastine Hon, said Mr Abiodun submitted a false academic qualification to aid his qualification to contest the 2019 governorship election.

Mr Hon contented that there was a difference between what he wrote in the form CFO submitted in 2015 to contest the senatorial election and the one submitted in 2019 for the governorship election.

He said that Mr Abiodun was not qualified to contest the governorship election based on his false qualification and urged the court to uphold the appeal.

In his argument, Mr Abiodun’s counsel, Taiwo Osipitan, said his client was qualified to contest the governorship election.

Mr Osipitan said the issue of academic qualification was a pre-election matter which ought to have been brought to court within 14 days after the document was submitted.

He said that the appellants did not have any grounds of appeal and urged the court to dismiss the appeal.