Oyo tribunal orders re-run election in Saki West

The Independent National Election Commission (INEC) must hold a new election in two polling units in the Saki West state constituency after being ordered to do so by the National and State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State.

This ruling was handed out by the tribunal on Thursday, and INEC has been ordered to hold a new election within 90 days.

Infostride News recounts that on March 18, 2023, INEC announced that Shittu Ibraheem had won the election in the constituency.

Ibraheem ran on the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket.

PDP candidate Julius Okedoyin, on the other hand, expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome of the vote.

Okedoyin went to the tribunal and filed a petition, saying that electoral irregularities had affected his chances of winning.

While delivering its verdict on Thursday, the three-justice panel composed of Jibril Anaja, A.M. Yakubu, and K.I. Okpe ruled that INEC’s certificate of return for the APC candidate “be set aside pending any appeal to the judgement.”

The petitioners’ allegations of overvoting and severe non-compliance with the norms of the Electoral Act have been proven, the tribunal said. We rule in favor of the petitioners and against the respondents on the matters at hand.

To finally settle who won the Saki West election on March 18, 2023, a new vote will be held in Ward 6 Unit 7 and Ward 11 Unit 19 during the next 90 days.

We find that the petition has merit and grant it. Pending appeal, we order that the Certificate of Returns issued by the Third Respondent to the First Respondent be nullified.