Ogun gov’ship: Don’t rejoice yet, Adebutu tells Abiodun

The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu, has described the victory of Governor Dapo Abiodun at the Court of Appeal on Friday as “only temporary,” saying the governor should not rejoice yet.

The Appeal Court sitting in Lagos had on Friday affirmed the election of Abiodun as the validly elected governor of Ogun State in the March 18, 2023 governorship elections.

Two of the court justices, J.S. Ikyegh and Muhammed Mustapha, in their judgement held that Adebutu’s appeal lacked merit and subsequently dismissed it, while the third judge, Justice Jane Inyang, in her judgement ordered INEC to organise a rerun within 90 days in the affected 92 polling units where election was cancelled due to violence and election malpractices.

Reacting to the court’s judgment on Saturday, Adebutu who spoke through his spokesman, Afolabi Orekoya, hinted that he and his party will approach the Supreme Court to seek justice.

The PDP chieftain said the appellate court judgment was an indication that “true justice is on the way and the hope of reclaiming the mandate of the good people of Ogun State is drawing nearer.”

Adebutu said, “The appeal judgment can be described as the pathway to victory. It resolved unanimously, five out of the eight issues in our favour, only one issue in favour of the respondents (Dapo Abiodun and APC) while the other two issues were resolved in ratio two to one.”