Rhodes-Vivour Challenges Tribunal VerdictThe Labour Party’s Lagos State governorship candidate, Gbadebo-Rhodes Vivour, has taken his case to the Court of Appeal in Lagos, contesting the State Governorship Tribunal’s decision to uphold Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s victory.
The Notice of Appeal, prepared by lawyer Olagbade Benson on behalf of 12 others, was filed on October 7th and contains 21 grounds for appeal. It has been served on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Governor Sanwo-Olu, his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat, and the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Rhodes-Vivour’s appeal argues that the Tribunal made legal errors. For instance, it contends that the Tribunal wrongly relied on a Court of Appeal decision to strike out the evidence of subpoenaed witnesses. The appellant also claims that the Tribunal incorrectly held that certain witnesses were not suitable to be subpoenaed and disregarded their evidence because they were not listed as witnesses or their statements were not included with the petition.
Additionally, Rhodes-Vivour challenges the Tribunal’s handling of the Deputy Governor’s Oath of Allegiance and his renunciation of citizenship. The appeal also touches on the Tribunal’s failure to disqualify Sanwo-Olu and his deputy, based on the deputy’s U.S.
citizenship, as well as the alleged violation of election procedural directions in the submission of the respondents’ Final Written Address.In summary, Gbadebo-Rhodes Vivour has raised multiple legal grounds to challenge the Tribunal’s decision and is seeking a different outcome at the Court of Appeal.