So far, Rhodes-Vivour has called 10 witnesses to testify in support of his petition. The 11th witness would have appeared on Monday.
The petition filed by the governorship candidate of the Labour Party, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, against the victory of Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his Deputy during the 2023 elections has been stalled, following the absence of the petitioner’s witness before the Election Petition Tribunal, presided over by Justice Arum Ashom.
So far, Rhodes-Vivour has called 10 witnesses to testify in support of his petition. The 11th witness would have appeared on Monday.
At a prior hearing, the petitioner stated that he would summon around 30 witnesses to testify in support of his petition. He also furnished the tribunal with approximately 20,000 papers.
The lead counsel for the petitioner, Olumide Ayeni (SAN), was absent from the proceedings on Monday, but the counsel who held his brief, Idowu Benson, told the Tribunal that the witness came to the court earlier but had to leave for medical attention when his health condition deteriorated before the day's proceedings began.
The attorney requested that the tribunal allows a brief delay of the proceedings until the following day.
He was quoted by Channels TV as saying, “The witness complained of feeling ill after waiting for some time and then excused himself that he needed to go to the hospital. We have informed the other counsel and craved their understanding.”
Eric Ogiegor, counsel for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and Segun Ajibola, lawyer for Sanwo-Olu and his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat, did not oppose to the delay request.
Norrison Quakers (SAN), counsel for the All Progressives Congress, also stated that he had no objection because it is a health-related issue.
Quakers added, “The witness of the tribunal had a health challenge. If tomorrow (Tuesday) is convenient, we can come back tomorrow, except they have another witness.”
After hearing both parties' statements, the tribunal's Chairman, Justice Ashom, postponed the case to Tuesday, July 4, 2023 for continuation.
Rhodes-Vivour, who received 257,502 votes in the March 18, 2023 elections, is requesting that the Tribunal rule that Sanwo-Olu and his deputy were not entitled to run for office.
He asked the tribunal to disqualify the governor for “non-compliance” with the Electoral Act 2022 and the guidelines of INEC and to declare him winner of the election.
Rhodes-Vivour also argued that the governor was not duly elected by a majority of the lawful votes cast at the election.