Court affirms Sanwo-Olu’s election, dismisses LP, PDP candidates’ appeals in Lagos

The Court of Appeal, Lagos, on Wednesday, dismissed the appeal filed by the Labour Party governorship candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, challenging Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s victory in the March 18 election in the state.

Rhodes-Vivour and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Abdulazeez Adediran aka Jandor are challenging the September 25 verdict of the state’s governorship election petition tribunal which upheld Sanwo-Olu’s victory in the poll.

The LP candidate had on October 7 filed 21 grounds of appeal on the tribunal’s verdict.

In the appeal filed by his counsel, Olagbade Benson, the Architect-turned politician described the tribunal’s ruling as a miscarriage of justice and urged the court to appeal court to set it aside.

He also urged the court to interpret Section 182 (1) (a) of the Constitution and its implication to the qualification of the governor and his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat, among other reliefs.

In its ruling on Wednesday, the three-member panel led by Justice Yargata Nimpar dismissed the appeal for lack of merit.

Other members of the panel are Justices Samuel Bola and Paul Bassi.

The appeal court, thereafter, affirmed Sanwo-Olu as the duly elected governor of the state.

The court had earlier dismissed the appeal filed by Adediran for the same reason.

It held that the PDP candidate failed to prove the allegations of forgery and non-qualification against Sanwo-Olu and his deputy.