The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the election of Olusegun Mimiko of the Labour Party, LP, as governor of Ondo State.
A panel of seven, presided by Justice Sylvester Nguta, held that the appeal filed against Mimiko’sre-election was unsustainable.
Nguta held that the decision of the Akure division of the Appeal Court on the matter was apt, adding that the apex court would not upturn an appellate decision which was given according to evidence brought before it.
According to Nguta, the appellant did not sufficiently prove his allegations against the conduct of the election.
“The appellant failed to prove the allegations of substantial non-compliance of the 2012 election with Electoral Act 2010 as amended beyond reasonable doubt, ” the court ruled.
Nguta said the appellant also failed to provide cogent evidence of the voter register he claimed was manipulated just as he was unable to prove allegations of fraud, irregularities and violent disruption of the election.
“In the circumstance, the appeal fails and it is therefore dismissed; the decision of the AkureDivision of the Appeal court on the matter is thereby upheld,” he decided.
Rotimi Akeredolu, candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, had challenged the July 2 decision of the Appeal Court which upheld the October 20, 2012 re-election Mimiko of theLabour party, LP.
Akeredolu claimed that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC conspired with Mimikoto illegally inject about 90,000 fake voters in the voter register used for the election.
He further alleged that the Electoral body failed to display the voter register before the election as mandated by the Electoral Act.
According to him, the election ought not to have been held as the processes leading to casting of votes were fraudulent.
The INEC returning officer and vice chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, AdebiyiDaramola, announced Mimiko to have won the election with 260,199 votes from the 18 Local Government Areas of the state, while Akeredolu polled a total of 143,512 votes.