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| Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Lagos state governor |
The Court of Appeal Lagos Division has reaffirmed the triumph of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the governorship election held on March 18. The appellate court upheld the decision of the Lagos State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, which had dismissed petitions filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party on September 25, challenging Sanwo-Olu’s win.
Governor Sanwo-Olu was declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with a total of 762,134 votes. Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party secured the second position with 62,499 votes, while Olajide Adediran (Jandor) from the PDP came in third with the same number of votes.
A three-member panel of the appellate court, led by Justice Yargata Nimpar, unanimously rejected the separate appeals filed by Jandor and Rhodes-Vivour, deeming them lacking in merit. Justices Samuel Bola and Paul Bassi were the other members of the panel.
In the lead judgment, Justice Nimpar emphasized that Jandor had no standing to contest the APC primary that produced Sanwo-Olu and his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat. The judge stated, “The appellant was a meddlesome interloper in challenging the emergence of Messrs. Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat at the primary exercise of their party, the All Progressives Congress; the appellant was neither an aspirant nor a member of the APC.”
Governor Sanwo-Olu, responding to the verdict, expressed humility and welcomed the decision, thanking Lagosians for their support. He stated, “Today’s judicial pronouncements, like those of the Lagos State Election Petitions Tribunal, have buoyed my confidence in our country’s judicial system. The court examined all the issues and did justice to them without leaving anyone in doubt as to who was the rightful winner of the election. Our party, the All Progressives Congress, will continue to maintain its firm belief in the judicial process.”
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