AKIN KUPONIYI

Senator Ashafa: PDP petition dismissed

An Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Lagos, on Monday, dismissed the petition filed by the candidate of Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, Lagos East Senatorial candidate, Mrs. Olabisi Ayodele Salis, filed against the candidate of All Progressive Congress, APC, Senator Bareehu Olugbenga Ashafa.‬

The petition was dismissed sequel to an application filed and argued before the tribunal by Barrister Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, leading two other Senior Advocates, Olusina Sofola and Adesegun Ajibola.

Pinheiro urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition for failure of the petitioners to apply for issuance of pre-hearing notice within the time prescribed by the rules of the tribunal.‬

He submitted further that by virtue of paragraph 18 (1) of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act, 2010, as amended, the petitioners are mandated to apply for the issuance of pre-hearing notice within seven days after filing and service of the petitioners’ reply on the respondents.‬

Because the petitioners failed to do what the law prescribes, he then applied for an order of the tribunal deeming the petition abandoned.

In the counter-affidavit filed by Dr. Yemi Oke, Salis’ lawyer, he contended that the petitioners duly complied with the requirement of the law in applying for the issuance of the pre-hearing notice, and contrary to the deposition of the respondent, he failed to take into account the period of the service of the petitioners’ reply to the respondents in calculating the period within which the pre-hearing notice forms ought to have been issued.‬

‪ In its verdict, the tribunal upheld the submission of Ashafa’s counsel, Mr. Pinheiro, that the petitioners ought to have filed their application for issuance on pre-hearing session forms on May 25, 2015, and not on May 26, 2015, as they did.‬

The tribunal also held that the failure of the petitioners to comply with the mandatory provisions of electoral act was fatal to its petition, hence, same had been abandoned by the petitioners.‬

‪Consequently, the tribunal dismissed Salis‬ petition.

‪In the petition filed before the Tribunal alongside her party PDP, Mrs. Salis stated that she ought to have been returned as duly elected having scored the majority of the lawful votes cast at the election conducted on March 28, 2015.
‪She claimed that she scored 126,350 plus 59,008 votes that was illegally deducted, while Ashafa scored 181, 221 votes.‬

‪However, Ashafa in his response, said Salis was not an aspirant of the PDP, and did not participate in the nomination exercise conducted by the PDP and therefore lacked the ‘locus standi’ to sue on the election. He therefore urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition.