There was a mild drama at the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Ado Ekiti on Monday, as the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the June 20 election, Amb. Isaac Alade, withdrew his case challenging the victory of Governor Biodun Oyebanji, contrary to the party’s wishes.
Another unexpected event occurred during the tribunal’s proceedings when an SDP agent and witness, Toluwalope Oluwandabira, was unable to identify the name of the party’s candidate in the election. This was the principal reason he was brought to the tribunal to provide evidence regarding the poll.
At the inaugural sitting of the Election Petition Tribunal last Monday, Dr. Oluwole Oluyede, the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the runner-up in the election, also withdrew his petition in a similar manner, which was subsequently struck out by the tribunal panel.
The three-member tribunal panel, chaired by Justice Abubakar Idris Kutigi, includes Justices Aminu Tukur and Maurice Okediya.
During the tribunal proceedings on Monday, the counsel for the SDP’s candidate and second petitioner, Umar Abdulhamid, informed the tribunal that he had filed a Motion on Notice dated September 12, 2026, notifying it of the second petitioner’s intention to discontinue with the petition.
Confounded by this action, the counsel for the SDP and first petitioner, Adewole Adebayo, described the withdrawal as an ambush, noting that he was unaware of the candidate’s intention to withdraw from the case. However, he stated that he would not oppose the application, as the candidate’s withdrawal would not hinder the party’s pursuit of the case.
In his ruling, Justice Kutigi said, “The tribunal grants the application, having considered the Motion on Notice of the second petitioner in respect to his intention to withdraw from the petition. His name is hereby struck out of the petition.”
Commenting further on the abrupt withdrawal of the candidate, Adebayo, who is the SDP presidential candidate, said the party remains unfazed, adding that “If he stands his ground and said he wants to withdraw or discontinue, then we will have no reason to stop him. If he withdraws and decides to go home, he is free; it doesn’t stop us from continuing with the case.”
But Counsel to Governor Oyebanji and 2nd respondent, Adetunji Oso, argued that he won’t oppose the application on the premise that it was undertaken in firm alignment with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026 and that the candidate only exercised his legal right.
Meanwhile, Adetunji punctured the widespread notion being bandied around that the petitioners were withdrawing their petitions through coercion or intimidation, clarifying that the governor, as the Chief Security Officer won’t undermine, nor take action that can hinder free operation of the tribunal to dispense justice in the matter expeditiously.
However, during the trial, the SDP called seven witnesses to prosecute its case, after the panelists resumed from a 30- minute recess embarked on for the party to assemble its witnesses.
There was a mild drama in the Court, as a witness, Odabira Olumuyiwa, gave contradictory evidence, saying he monitored the poll as an agent at ward 2, unit 007, at Ikole Local Government without wearing the Independent National Electoral Commission’s identification tag, as demanded by the Electoral Act, 2026.
In his testimony before the tribunal, another witness, Bamisaye Julius, who raised the issue of alleged massive vote buying, said he noticed people sharing money, but couldn’t ascertain precisely the amount being shared to sway voters and the actual persons that was responsible.
Another witness, Awoleye Sunday Samuel, revealed that though there were skirmishes at the polling unit among contending forces where he served as agent for the party, but clarified that such didn’t affect the successful conduct of the election.
In the petition filed by the Action Alliance(AA), the party’s Chairman and the State Collation Agent, Elder Sunday Ajayi, under cross-examination, stated that he was not issued any appointment letter to oversee the election, but claimed that he got the mandate of his party to serve in that capacity, being the number one party man in the state.
After calling seven witnesses, counsel to the petitioners requested for a short adjournment, which was granted by the tribunal, having not been opposed by the lawyers to the respondents.
At this stage, Counsel to Governor Oyebanji told the tribunal to be circumspect of the fact that an election petition is sui generis, praying the panelists to impress it on the petitioners not to foot-drag and waste the time of the tribunal on this premise.
“My lord, they are hampering us. You have to tell them to present their witnesses who could give evidence based on where they worked during the election, in a timely. We can’t waste the time of the court,” he said.
