Oyo Tribunal gets 12 petitions

The Oyo State Election Petitions Tribunal yesterday said it has received 12 petitions – 10 House of Representatives and two senatorial.

At the State High Court, Iyaganku, Ibadan, where Courts 15 and 21 have been assigned to hear the petitions, a tribunal official, who pleaded for anonymity, said it was too early to give  details.

He said the two senatorial petitions received were in respect of Oyo Central and Oyo South districts.

The tribunal official said the 21-day period allowed for filing of petitions had lapsed in respect of the presidential/National Assembly elections.

The court official said hearing might not begin until next week when, according to him, “it is expected that all the necessary filings would have been comple

ted and those expected to be served would have received the papers”.

It was gathered that petitions in respect of both the governorship and State House of Assembly elections held on April 11 could still be entertained.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) made a clean sweep of the National Assembly election, winning 12 of the 14 House of Representatives seats and all the three senatorial seats.

The party, aside winning the governorship election, which produced Abiola Ajimobi as the first governor to win a second term, also won 18 seats in the House of Assembly as against the eight won by Accord and six won by Labour Party (LP).

Former Governor Rashidi Ladoja, who contested for governorship on the platform of Accord, had vowed to challenge Ajimobi’s victory, alleging that his mandate was stolen.