Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat, have concluded their defence in the petition filed by Labour Party candidate Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour before the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal. The petition seeks to nullify their election on the grounds of eligibility and vote count.
During the proceedings, Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat called only one witness, Fuad Oki, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to challenge the case presented by the Labour Party candidate. Through their lawyer, Muiz Banire, they tendered documents including the INEC form EC9, which contains personal information and the oath taken on the nomination form.
Oki testified that he witnessed Hamzat filling out the INEC form EC9 and taking the oath at the Lagos State High Court registry in Ikeja. The documents presented by the respondents also included certified copies of INEC forms EC8C, EC8D, and EC8E, which summarize the results at various levels of collation
The witness confirmed that the copies of the oath page and the declaration of path receipt tendered by the petitioner and the counsel for the fourth respondent, Abiodun Owonikoko, contained the same content and reflected the same receipt number.
With the conclusion of their defence, the Governor and Deputy Governor await further proceedings and the ruling of the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal regarding the petition filed by the Labour Party candidate.
