Jandor targets Sanwo-Olu’s sack in final address against APC, LP
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Lagos governorship candidate Olajide Adediran, popularly called Jandor, says he is confident of victory at the tribunal in his petition Governor Babaji Sanwo-Olu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party (LP).
The Lagos State Election Petitions Tribunal has fixed August 12 for all parties to adopt their final written addresses.
Jandor argued on Arise Television that final written addresses have been submitted to the tribunal and are now publicly available to anyone, therefore, they can be commented upon outside of court without committing subjudice.
He said both Sanwo-Olu and Rhodes-Vivour failed to comply with the Electoral Act in their party primaries.
He also spoke specifically about Sanwo-Olu’s alleged certificate forgery, which automatically disqualifies him from office if proven.
“In our case, we have submitted before the tribunal that these two political parties [APC and LP] did not comply with the provisions of that law, and throughout the trial, they did not submit anything to contradict that position, including calling witnesses and others,” Jandor said.
“Secondly, according to the Electoral Act, for a primary election to be held, there must be a notification or communication from the political party to INEC [Independent National Electoral Commission] that will speak about the date and venue, which must be authorised by the national body of the party (NEC).”
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How Sanwo-Olu and Rhoes-Vivour violated Electoral Act
“The two political parties did not comply with this because the notification they sent to INEC was signed by the state chapter of the party, which is in contradiction to their provision. Failure to do that means your candidate will not be included in that election; it’s clearly in the electoral act,” per reporting by Vanguard.
“At this point, the job is already done; the facts are before the court, and there’s nothing to add or remove. Our petition is premised on the disqualification of both candidates.
“Elections in Nigeria are held under certain rules provided by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Part of these rules is that whoever wants to run for the office of Governor, especially in Lagos State or any other state in Nigeria, must be a member of a political party who must sponsor such a person for that election.
“That is Section 177 (c) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Sponsorship includes holding a valid primary and making sure such a candidate did not submit falsified information or documents to INEC. That is taken care of by Section 182 of the Constitution.”
Jandor also zeroed in on the disqualification of Sanwo-Olu, alleging
- His name in the 1981 West African Examination Council (WAEC) certificate he submitted to the INEC is different from the name used to register for the examination.
- Sanwo-Olu, if he ever changed his name, did not do a deed poll on it as required by law.
- The subject grades in his WAEC certificate are different from the grades WAEC gave in the genuine certificate.
- In fact, he forged the WAEC certificate he submitted to the INEC.
- WAEC turned down at the tribunal the request to examine its server to ascertain the grades.
Proven certificate forgery, Jandor insisted, is a strong grounds for disqualification from office.
