Gov’ship poll: Abiodun, Adebutu’s lawyers clash at tribunal over vote-buying allegation

Lawyers representing the petitioner and the respondent at the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abeokuta, Ogun State, disagreed on Tuesday over vote-buying allegation.

The petitioner and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate during the March 18 election, Ladi Adebutu, is challenging the victory of Governor Dapo Abiodun of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

When the three-man panel led by Justice Hamidu Kunaza resumed pre-hearing sitting on Tuesday, counsel for the two parties clashed over alleged vote buying during the election.

Lead counsel for the respondent (Abiodun), Prof Taiwo Osipitan (SAN), raised issue of vote-buying against Adebutu and the PDP in one of the replies to the petition.

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But the petitioner’s counsel, Goddy Uche (SAN) disagreed, accusing the APC and Abiodun of vote buying during the election.

Uche maintained that issues bothering on vote buying was raised in the petition filed before the tribunal.

He added that he was however, compelled to also reply that the APC was the one responsible for alleged vote buying.

The tribunal, however, adjourned till June 19 to rule on the matter.

Daily Trust reports both the APC and the PDP had been locked in allegation and counter allegation of vote buying during the last election.

A police report had earlier indicted Adebutu of alleged vote buying with the sum of N2 billion through an ATM card preloaded with N10,000 each.

Also, acting upon a petition, instituted by the PDP, the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, had directed police commissioner in the state, Olanrewaju Oladimeji, to investigate Governor Abiodun over allegations that he loaded N5 billion on bank-linked vouchers to buy votes during the same election.

Speaking with newsmen after the sitting, Osipitan said, “We will wait for the tribunal to decide, we have challenged some of their paragraphs which we believed ought not to be there.”

Uche on his part said, “ We have argued all the motions except one for which we will be back tomorrow (Wednesday) to argue and after tomorrow maybe the tribunal will give us a date for trial.

“We have brought a motion to expunge their vote buying allegation because they can’t make such allegation, it is not expected to be in their reply, if they want to make that allegation they should have filed a cross petition and that is our objection. Although they are not sounding serious about it, we ask the court to strike it out.”