Supreme Court Confirms Dapo Abiodun as Ogun Governor, Rejects PDP’s Appeal

The Supreme Court has upheld Dapo Abiodun’s position as the duly elected Governor of Ogun State in the March 18 Governorship election.

Abiodun, a member of the APC, secured victory with 276,298 votes, as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). His closest rival, Oladipupo Adebutu of the PDP, received 262,383 votes.

Unsatisfied with the outcome, Adebutu and the PDP pursued legal action, but the tribunal dismissed their petition, citing incompetence, defects, disjunction, and lack of merits.

Adebutu then sought an appeal, challenging the tribunal’s decision. However, the Appellate Court, in a 2-1 decision, supported the tribunal’s stance.

The dissenting opinion at the Appellate Court argued that Abiodun should not have been declared the winner, considering the margin of lead being less than the number of cancelled votes.

Justice Tijjani Abubakar JSC at the Supreme Court upheld the lower courts’ findings, stating that the appellants failed to meet the burden of proof required.