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Members of the
Election Petition Tribunal for Ogun State are expected to arrive
Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, today to look into some petitions
which have been submitted by aggrieved losers and their parties at the
just concluded general elections in the state.

NEXT gathered at
the weekend that about six petitions have been received by the
tribunal, which is expected to use the magistrate court complex located
in the Isabo area of the town as its operational base.

Incumbent senator
for Ogun Central, Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello who contested under the platform
of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but lost to the candidate of the
Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Gbenga Obadara, was among the
petitioners who were seeking redress at the tribunal. Also, the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) filed a suit against the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) and candidates of both the Peoples Party of
Nigeria (PPN) and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) before the
tribunal over the April 9, 2011 national assembly election.

Although the
current speaker of the house of representatives, Dimeji Bankole, said
he had accepted his loss at the last election in good faith, his party
still went ahead to file a petition on his behalf to challenge the
victory of his opponent, Segun Williams of the Action Congress of
Nigeria (ACN), who won the seat to represent Abeokuta South federal
constituency at the house of representatives.

The PDP filed a
total of five petitions, while the ACN and its candidate in Yewa
North/Imeko-Afon federal constituency, Adeniyi Akanbi filed only one
petition to challenge INEC and the candidate of Peoples Party of
Nigeria (PPN} Rasaq Adewusi, who was declared winner of the election in
that constituency.

The PDP candidates
who joined the suit with their party at the tribunal include Mohammed
Odunowo, who contested for the Ogun East senatorial seat and lost to
the ACN’s Gbenga Kaka; Babatrunde Fadun who contested for the Ogun West
senatorial seat but lost to the ACN’s candidate Babalola Odunsi and Mr
Ajibade, who lost the house of representatives election to Mr Adewusi.

The PDP filed its
petitions on April 29 while the ACN filed its petition on April 30,
2011. The concerned parties to the various suits were said to have been
served.

Information pasted
at the premises of the tribunal showed that all the petitioners had to
pay N400,000 as security cost before filing their petitions.

However, efforts to speak with the secretary of the tribunal, Mr Eze, did not yield positive results as he declined comment.

“I was not authorized to talk to the press,” he said.