Governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), His Excellency, Olorogun Barr. Kenneth Gbagi, has filed his petition, challenging the victory and a subsequent disqualification of Sheriff Oborevwori, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate and his Deputy, Monday Onyeme in the 18th March election.
Gbagi, a renowned Criminologist, is also seeking the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal to disqualify the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Ovie Augustine Omo-Agege, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru, Labour Party (LP), Kennedy Pela and their Deputies respectively.
Gbagi, a former Chairman, Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, urged the Tribunal to either declare him the Governor-Elect in the belief that he scored the majority of the lawful votes during the election, or in the alternative, nullify the entire election and order a fresh election.
Gbagi, who came fourth with 4963 votes in the election, filed his petition to challenge the outcome of the poll at the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal at Asaba, on Thursday 6th March 2023.
He alleged that the election was invalid by reason of non-compliance with the provision of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended and the electoral Act, 2022.
He equally alleged that the election was characterized by various irregularities including the non-qualification of the aforementioned Governorship candidates and their Deputies to contest the election.
He alleged further that Oborevwori failed to win the majority of the lawful votes cast in the election.
According to the grounds of the petition, the election was conducted in non-compliance with the provision of the law, insisting that the 3rd Respondent and the 4th, 6th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 12th and 13th respondents at the time of the election were not qualified to contest the election.
The party flag bearer and the SDP sued the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Oborevwori, Onyeme (Deputy Governorship-elect) and their party, the PDP, APC, APGA, LP among others as respondents.
The State INEC Collation Officer, Onuwari Georgewill, a professor and the vice-chancellor, University of Port Harcourt, had on Monday declared Oborevwori winner with 360, 234 votes in Asaba.
Omo-Agege of APC came second with 240, 229 votes while Pela of LP got 48, 047 and Ogboru of APGA scored 11021 votes according to the results declared by INEC.
Olorogun Gbagi’s legal team which filed the petition against the outcome of the election is led by Magaji Mato Ibrahim, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
Briefing journalists in Asaba shortly after Gbagi, the biggest employer of labour in the State flanked by the head of his legal team, said the grounds upon which this petition are founded are that the 3rd Respondent (Oborevwori) “was not duly elected and returned by majority of lawful votes cast at the Delta State Governorship Election held on the 18th of March 2023.
“That the 3rd Respondent and the 4th, 6th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 12th and 13th respondents at the time of the election were not qualified to contest the election.
“The 3rd Respondent in an attempt to meet the constitutional requirements of eligibility for the 2023 Governorship election, presented a falsified statutory declaration of age/affidavit in support of personal particulars as contained in Form C.F. 001 (affidavit in support of personal particulars of persons seeking election to the office/membership of State House of Assembly) dated 24th October 2018 and form EC9 (affidavit in support of personal particulars) dated 30th Day of June 2022 through the 2nd Respondent (PDP) to the 1st Respondent (INEC)”.
He noted that all the Governorship candidates and their Deputies who contested the election with him were not qualified to contest the election.
The SDP Candidate who was so optimistic about the petition explained that if someone was to gain admission into a secondary school, he would need a qualification from primary six before he could fully gain such admission but when such persons fake his result, it means such persons are not qualified.
Faulting the credibility of the election, Gbagi said there are a lot of malpractices, vote buying, food being cooked for people, and wrappers being bought for them among other irregularities that transpired during the election, adding that these are what the Electoral Act spells out as crime.
“I believe my petition has encompassed all of that and I believe strongly that the judiciary will do justice,” Gbagi said.
He also alleged that the election results were manipulated and allocated because those numbers are not realistic with INEC. According to him, declaring results which have nothing to do with the BVAS is wrong as those results are deemed to be canceled.
“We have persons who have no business contesting Governorship Election in Delta State, we have to get it right. We have lived in the world of deceit for too long, Delta State needs a renewed atmosphere of honesty, purposeful and character.
Continuing, he said: “By the time you get the details of the petition you will realize that if you were to go to secondary school and the qualification is primary six and you deny or bring fake certificate to go to school, then, you are not qualified, that is what the rules says.
“The elections, there are lots of malpractices, vote buying, food being cooked for people, wrappers been bought for them. All of those are part of what the electoral acts have spelt out to be a crime. So at the end of the day, my petitioners encompass all of that, I believe very strongly that the judiciary will do what they ought to do.
“You know definitely the numbers were allocated, those are not the numbers that are realistic with the INEC election. If you declare results that has nothing to do with the BVAS, all those results stands cancelled.
“So, don’t worry about yourself whether they out me at number 20 or 40, the fact will speak for itself. Maybe people thought that it is business as usual. We did not go into this race for joke, we mean what we wanted to do, we planned for it and I believe that justice will be done.
“The petition is that everybody who attempted to contest the election with me, first and foremost is not qualified to run for election”, he announced.
Also speaking is Magaji Mato Ibrahim, SAN, reiterated that they are maintaining three basic grounds which he claimed that all the other political parties and their candidates are not qualified to contest the election.
He said the election was not conducted in line with the Electoral Act and other statutory positions of the law.
The counsel also said the election was marred with rigging and other electoral malpractice adding that the three grounds are highly pleaded and adequately provided with facts and concrete evidence to justify the course.
He added that as a lawyer, they believe the judiciary is the last hope of the common man where justice can be served based on the petition.
“First, All the other parties and their candidates contesting the election are not qualified and the second one is that the election itself was not conducted in line with the electoral Acts and other statutory provisions of the law and then finally, it was marred with massive rigging and other electoral malpractices which we feel these three grounds are highly pleaded and adequately provided with concrete evidences that will be proven by the special grace of God”.
On whether they have confidence on the judiciary, he said: “we have so much confidence in the judiciary, as lawyers we believe that the judiciary is the last hope of the common man and we all believe that justice will be done in this petition”, he said.
