DELTA GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION TRIBUNAL: Why Sheriff Oborevwori cannot win

Under the 2022 Electoral Act, petitions are instituted for the purposes of challenging the validity of an election or disputing the return of a candidate. An election petition is usually presented by a candidate in an election or a political party that took part in the elections.

It will be recalled that the All Progressive Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Obarisi Ovie Omo-Agege, had assured millions of his teeming supporters that he would not abandon his mandate and vowed to prove to the world that he won the March 18 governorship election.

Ovie Omo-Agege had accused officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), of violating essential provisions of the 2022 Electoral Act on the use of BVAS for accreditation.

The hearing notice had earlier fixed the governorship election petition tribunal’s adoption of final addresses or closing arguments for August 24.

Today, all parties adopted their final written addresses before the Delta State Governorship Election Tribunal.

Senator Ovie Omo-Agege’s legal team focused the mind of the panel clearly on the real and ultimate fact borne by the totality of the documentary and oral evidence tendered and given before the Tribunal that Senator Omo-Agege defeated Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori of PDP with at least 14,128 and scored 25% of the total votes cast in 24 LGAs to satisfy the constitutional requirements to be declared the duly elected Governor of Delta State. There is no doubt that Omo-Agege won the election based on the lawful and valid votes cast in the election.

On the other hand, the lawyers to the 1st respondent INEC and the 2nd and 3rd respondents, Sheriff Oborevwori and PDP asked the Tribunal to dismiss the petition on the ground of lacking in merit, abuse of court processes and that the plaintiff could not prove his case beyond reasonable doubt.

The key question to be resolved in the case is about violating the essential provisions of the 2022 Electoral Act on using BVAS for accreditation.

It is the case of the petitioners that the bypass and non-use of the BVAS machines in the accreditation data and polling unit results of the election fundamentally and substantially affected the integrity of the results announced by the 1st Respondent for the 2nd and 3rd Respondents and thoroughly discredited the process of the election.

The non-compliance substantially affected the result of the election, in that the second respondent ought not to have been declared or returned as the winner of the election.

It is abundantly proven that INEC violated its own regulations and that this had the force of law. Indeed Ovie Omo-Agege and APC’s brief emphasised that non-compliance by INEC officials in the use of BVAS for accreditation is a criminally punishable offence!

The mischief here to be mitigated is the manipulation of manual results to distort election outcomes. The BVAS was violated, thus undermining election integrity.

The Tribunal has adjourned for judgement on a date to be communicated to the parties soon.

Having done everything at this stage to defend the electoral will of Deltans who voted for Senator Omo-Agege to be their responsible Governor, we commit the rest to God Almighty.

However, there is no doubt that this case will go all the way to the Supreme Court.