>
The Court of Appeal sitting in Ibadan, on Friday, dismissed the petition filed by the immediate past Governor of Oyo State, Abiola Ajimobi, challenging the verdict of the National and State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal on the outcome of Oyo South senatorial election held on February 23, 2019.
The Election Petition Tribunal had upheld the election of Sen. Kola Balogun as the Senator representing the zone.
Delivering judgment, Justice Haruna Tsammani, dismissed Ajimobi’s petition for lacking in merit.
The judge held that the petitioner does not have the right to raise the issue of non-qualification of the respondent based on the conduct of Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) primary, stressing that a person that does not participate in the party primary does not have the right to challenge the outcome of the primary.
Tsammani said a person is qualified to contest, once the person has satisfied the condition of the party and the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) confirms the person.
The judge said most of the witnesses presented by the petitioner were not qualified to tender exhibits and give evidence because they are not the maker of the documents tendered.
He said the tribunal was right in upholding Balogun’s victory and dismissed the petition.