Supreme Court has upheld election of Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State.
In a unanimous judgment yesterday, a five-man panel of the court dismissed appeal filed by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the last governorship election in Ekiti, Mr Kolapo Olusola Eleka.
PDP and Eleka had appealed the judgment of Court of Appeal, which upheld the decision of Mr Suleiman Belgore-led election tribunal, which held that Mr Fayemi was validly elected.
In the lead judgment by Mr John Okoro, the court held that the appeal was unmeritorious and proceeded to uphold an earlier judgment by Court of Appeal, Abuja, which affirmed the decision of the election tribunal to the effect that Fayemi was validly elected.
Okoro said he could not interfere with the concurrent findings of the two lower courts – the trial tribunal and Court of Appeal – because the appellants (PDP and Olusola-Eleka) failed to establish that both lower courts erred and misapplied the law in their judgments.
The judge said: “I have carefully considered the issues canvassed by all the parties to the appeal. I am satisfied to hold that there is no merit in this appeal.
“It has to be noted that the two courts below are concurrent in their findings. It is trite that this court is always very hesitant to interfere with concurrent findings of two lower courts unless their findings are shown to be manifestly erroneous.
“Only where the appellant has established that clear errors of law or facts which application leads to miscarriage of justice that this court can interfere to reverse the concurrent findings.
“As I have said earlier, there is no merit in this appeal, and is accordingly dismissed. I affirm the judgment of the lower court, and I make no order as to cost.”
Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Mr Tanko Muhammad, Messers Olukayode Ariwoola, Paul Galumje and Uwani Abba-Aji (who were also on the panel), agreed with the lead judgment.
Belgore-led Governorship Election Tribunal, which sat in Apo, Abuja had, in its judgment on January 28, 2019 upheld the declaration by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that Fayemi and the APC won the July 14, 2018 governorship election with a total of 197,459 votes as against the 178,121 votes scored by PDP’s Olusola-Eleka.
Court of Appeal, Abuja, to which PDP and Olusola-Eleka appealed the decision of the trial tribunal, dismissed the appeal in its judgment of March 28, 2019.
Mr Stephen Adah, who read the lead judgment of a three-man panel, resolved the seven issues identified for determination against the appellants.
Adah proceeded to dismiss the appeal on the grounds that it was without merit; a decision the two other members of the panel – Mrs Tinuade Akomolafe-Wilson and Mr Emmanuel Agim – agreed with.
Reacting to the judgment yesterday, Fayemi extended an olive branch to Eleka, Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in the election.
Fayemi urged Eleka to join him in building a prosperous Ekiti that would be economically viable to serve the populace.
Fayemi, who had just returned to Ekiti from Abuja, said Eleka is an accomplished Ekiti person, going by what he had read and heard about him, adding that he was ready to work with him to move Ekiti higher.
He said: “Eleka is an illustrious Ekiti person. Though I am not close to him, with what I have heard and read about him, he is an accomplished Ekiti man.
“He had served this state as a deputy governor, and having pursued his case to the Supreme Court, he should forget about party. He should come to Ekiti party; that is where we all belong, so that we can serve our people better and in a more beneficial way.”
Fayemi described both his recent appointment as NGF chairman and his court’s victory as signals of good things to come for Ekiti and the Southwest region.
Speaking further on the verdict, the governor said: “I have to give glory to God for finally bearing testimony to the fact that the election that brought me into office was credible, and that the primary of my party was the best ever conducted by any party in the history of our nation.
“It also bears testimony to the fact that the so called white papers which indicted me was meant for nowhere but a trash can.
“The supreme court said the foundation trial courts did a yeoman’s job by saying the election in Ekiti was substantially compliant with the provisions of the law.
“Let me thank the Supreme Court for putting a finality to this endless litigation, because distraction is bound to happen when you have endless cases in court.”
On his election as NGF chairman, Fayemi said: “It was Ekiti that elected me governor. But being NGF chairman won’t make me to withdraw from serving Ekiti.
“You can say Ekiti is in the eye of the storm, because I was elected NGF chairman to serve the nation, but there is no way I won’t defend my people in whatever is coming to states. It is not unlikely that I will argue for Ekiti when things like this happens.
“NGF is a national role. I am just a first among equals.”
The Nation
