Law News
Lagos election petitions tribunal begins May 5

The Lagos State Election Petitions Tribunal will on Tuesday, May 5, 2015 hold its inaugural sitting.

The tribunal will sit in one of the family courts on the premises of the recently commissioned Roseline Omotoso Court in Ikeja.

The secretary to the tribunal, Hafsatu Suleiman, revealed on Thursday that the tribunal had received 20 petitions.

Suleiman was however silent on the judges who make up the panel.

Among the petitions received were two from the March 28 senatorial election in the state.

Two candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, Segun Adewale and Olabisi Salis-Fakos, have approached the tribunal to challenge their defeat.

Adewale who polled 372,421 votes had lost the Lagos West Senatorial District seat to the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Olamilekan Solomon, who polled 429,765 votes.

Salis-Fakos, who polled 126, 350 votes, is challenging her defeat in the Lagos East Senatorial District by the APC candidate, Gbenga Ashafa, who polled 181,221 votes.

No fewer than 15 petitions arose from the April 11, 2015 House of Assembly election in Lagos State.

Though the PDP had earlier alleged irregularities in the conduct of the governorship election in Lagos State which held 19 days ago, there is however no indication that the party is challenging the defeat of its governorship candidate, Jimi Agbaje.

Any party which disagrees with the result of an election is expected to file a complain within 21 days of such an election.

The APC’s Akinwunmi Ambode had been declared winner of the Lagos governorship contest by the Independent National Electoral Commission after polling 811,994 votes.

Agbaje polled 659,788 votes to trail behind Ambode with a margin of 152, 206 votes.

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