The Election Petition Tribunal hearing the dispute arising from the June 18 governorship election in Ekiti State yesterday resumed hearing, as the witnesses of the petitioners began giving their evidence.
The first witness, the state Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Dr. Dele Ekunola, was the first to enter the witness box where he was grilled for one hour, thirty five minutes by lawyers of the respondents.
It was the continuation of the hearing of the petition filed by the SDP candidate at the last governorship election, Chief Segun Oni, who is challenging the return of the Governor-elect, who stood as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Biodun Oyebanji, as the winner of the poll by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Oyebanji is the 1st Respondent, while the Deputy Governor-elect is the 5th Respondent. Alhaji Mai Mala Buni is the 3rd Respondent, while INEC is the 4th Respondent.
Under cross-examination by the counsel for 2nd Respondent, the APC, Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN), Ekunola failed to mention the names of the units and wards where electoral malpractices he alleged in his witness statement on oath, took place.
He also failed to mention the names of individuals he referred to as the agents of the 2nd Respondents, whom he accused in Paragraph 16 of his witness statement on oath of allegedly distributing between N5,000 and N10,000 to voters on election day.
The SDP chairman also failed to substantiate his allegation in Paragraph 32 of his witness statement on oath that the 1st Respondent, Oyebanji and the 2nd Respondent, APC, supplied some electors with voter cards to give undue advantage to the ruling party at the polls.
Ekunola was also taken up on a pre-election case with Suit Number FHC/AD/CS/5/2022 filed by Senator Dayo Adeyeye, admitting that he (Ekunola) was not a party to that suit, which he cited as a reference in his witness statement on oath.
When asked by Olujinmi whether he was aware that the suit had been withdrawn, Ekunola told the tribunal that he was not aware of the withdrawal, as he was not a member of APC.
Olujinmi sought to tender the Certified True Copy of the proceedings of that case as an exhibit before the tribunal, which was opposed by counsel for the petitioners, Mr. Obafemi Adewale (SAN).
Adewale told the tribunal that he would reserve the reasons for the opposition to the admissibility of the documents for the address stage.