The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore, has accused Governor Rauf Aregbesola of frustrating proceedings at the Election Petitions Tribunal with the petition the latter had written to the National Judicial Council against the Chairman of the panel, Justice Suleiman Ambrusa.
Omisore, who spoke with journalists after the stakeholders’ meeting of the PDP in Osogbo on Monday, said that the governor was using various tactics to slow down the trial because his victory at the August 9 poll was fraudulent.
Asked if he had confidence in the tribunal, whose chairman Aregbesola had written petition against, Omisore said, “We don’t have any problem with any judge. We have a good case and we are hopeful that we will get justice at the end of the day. They are used to buying judges to get victory. They are making noise about the judge because they are unable to buy him.”
The PDP candidate also said that the governor, through his counsels had also been frustrating the inspection of election materials at the office of the Independence National Electoral Commission in Osogbo.
According to him, counsels for the governor have been presenting frivolous applications to the tribunal to frustrate the inspection.
He stated that the respondent was jittery about the inspection because he had so many things to hide and was no longer comfortable because of the revelations ongoing at the inspection.
Omisore also opposed the return of the Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Ambassador Rufus Akeju.
He said the REC was brought back to perfect some of the irregularities he had allegedly perpetrated before the election, which was presided over by another REC, Mr. Olusegun Agbaje.
But the Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy of the All Progressives Congress in the state, Mr. Kunle Oyatomi, debunked the allegation against the governor and the party.
He said that the APC did not buy judges and the party had made known its reason for rejecting the judge.
He said, “In a situation where both sides have rejected the two chairmen brought to chair the tribunal, it is only natural that a chairman acceptable to both sides should be brought.
“If the first one was rejected for any reason that has not been made known by the PDP, we have on our part have made known our reason for rejecting the current chairman.
“We hold that he is not only hostile to the APC, we don’t believe that he is capable of dispensing justice in a matter like this, because his hostility towards us at the Kogi Election Tribunal was legendary.”
by ROTMANLUV 2023-07-08, 17:34
