Based on the information provided, the Lagos Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has scheduled June 2 for a ruling on an application filed by Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, the Labour Party’s candidate in the March 18 election.
Rhodes-Vivour is seeking to nullify the election of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his deputy Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, alleging that they were not qualified to contest the election. He has asked the tribunal to disqualify the governor for non-compliance with the Electoral Act and INEC guidelines and declare himself the winner of the election. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Governor Sanwo-Olu, Dr. Hamzat, and the All Progressives Congress (APC) are the respondents in the petitio
During the proceedings, Rhodes-Vivour’s counsel sought leave to argue two out of nine applications, one of which is to file a list of additional witnesses and the other is to consolidate their applications with that of Olajide Adediran of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). However, counsels for the respondents urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition for being incompetent and lacking jurisdiction.
The tribunal chairman, Justice Arum Igyen Ashom, adjourned the proceedings for a ruling on the issues raised by the counsels. The ruling will determine whether the application filed by Rhodes-Vivour will be struck out or not. The election results show that Governor Sanwo-Olu received 718,595 votes, Rhodes-Vivour received 257,502 votes, and Adediran received 59,172 votes in the March 18 election.