Ekiti Tribunal: Rigging Allegation Against APC Based on Suspicion – SDP Agent
A Social Democratic Party’s Collation Agent in Ekiti Southwest Local Government Area of Ekiti State in the June 20 Governorship Election, Eniola Seyi, on Tuesday declared before the Election Petition Tribunal that allegation of massive rigging slammed against the victorious All Progressives Congress in the council was based on suspicion.
The witness said this before the three- man Election Petition Tribunal panel, chaired by Justice Abubakar Idris Kutigi, in Ado Ekiti, during the continuation of proceeding in respect of the post election legal tussle .
The Action Alliance ( AA) and Social Democratic Party (SDP), who are first and second petitioners, are challenging the victory of Governor Biodun Oyebanji, candidate of the APC in the governorship poll.
While being cross-examined by the counsels to the first and second respondents, Barr Tunde Salako and Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN) respectively, the witness stated that he suspected irregularities in the poll, having been allegedly excluded from participating in the collation process, among other SDP agents he claimed suffered similar fate.
The witness brazenly contradicted himself when he told the court that he saw how some APC agents were allegedly manipulating results at the collation centre, even when he claimed in his Witness Statement on Oath that he was excluded from participating in the collation process.
“Since we were not present at where the collation was being done, then, there were possibilities that irregularities were being done. They didn’t allow us to stay and we couldn’t have seen what they were doing or writing, but we suspected that they rigged the election in that council”.
The witness also agreed that election results at various wards were supposed to have been collected by ward agents, and not him, as wrongly done by the party, saying it was the duty of the ward agents to collect results declared at that level.
The SDP agent who claimed that he was duly appointed by party to monitor the poll and collation process , failed to bring the letter authorising him to act on behalf of the party to court, and neither was such evidence front loaded before the tribunal .
Another witness, Fatoye Oluwatosin, who gave graphic details of how the voting was conducted in his unit in Ilejemeje council, when it was his turn to vote, stated that he was duly accredited and given a ballot paper to thumbprint by INEC officials, which countered the claim in his deposition that no accreditation was done.
But he hinted that the Bimodal Voter’s Accreditation System(BVAS) machine that had been functioning properly started malfunctioning during his turn.
Other witnesses and party agents in the poll : Adelere Oluwaseun, from Ise/Orun, Adelusi Ayo, from Gbonyin, Adeniyi Ojo, from Gbonyin, and Mallam Adams, also from Gbonyin, all gave evidence that they voted in their respective units without molestation or harassment, but only raised issues with collation process.
However, during the proceeding, the counsel to the petitioners, Dr. Chukwudebelu Nnamdi, tendered evidence through form EC8As, challenging the results declared by INEC in some wards in Ekiti East, Ekiti Southwest, Ilejemeje, Gbonyin, and Ise/Orun Local Governments, alleging that the axis witnessed widespread manipulations during the poll.
The counsels to the respondents objected to the admissibility of the documentary evidence, saying their opposition will be indicated in their final addresses.
In continuation of the proceeding, an AA Witness, Omobulejo Funmilayo, failed to answer all the questions asked, neither could she read her Statement Witness on Oath, which infuriated the tribunal panelists, who had earlier told the witnesses to speak loudly while testifying.
Another AA witness dubbed as PW 10, Omobulejo Ayomide Sunday, gave evidence in support of his party in the case.