The Ondo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Akure has struck out a petition filed by the People’s Democratic Party against the return of Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, as Governor.
The petition filed by PDP’s Eyitayo Jegede was struck out for want of jurisdiction by the three-man panel led by Justice Abubakar Umar.
The Tribunal in its virtual judgment said the issues raised in the petition are internal affairs and management challenges of a political party which it has no jurisdiction to hear.
In the ruling, the Tribunal opined that Akeredolu and his Deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa were duly nominated and sponsored by the APC in line with section 177 of the constitution and section 31 of the electoral Act, adding that the electoral laws did not specify who to submit the names of candidates.
During the ruling, the chairman of the panel added that copies of the judgment would be made available to concerned parties.
Jegede had approached the Tribunal to upturn the victory of Akeredolu at the October 10, 2020 governorship election.
According to Jegede, Akeredolu and his Deputy, Lucky Ayedatiwa were not validly nominated by the APC.