Prof. Sagay Faults Supreme Court Over Osun Governorship Verdict

Itse Sagay, chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee
Against Corruption (PACAC), says the supreme court ought to have
addressed the validity of the Osun state governorship rerun
election.

Speaking with Daily
Trust^[1], Sagay said the apex
court was right to have nullified the verdict of the tribunal but
should have made an affirmative pronouncement if INEC was right to
have declared the poll inconclusive and subsequently held
supplementary poll.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had
declared the September 2018 gubernatorial election as
inconclusive and scheduled a rerun after which
Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC)
was declared winner.

But Ademola Adeleke, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP), challenged the outcome of the the election at the
tribunal.

The apex court had set aside the entire proceedings of the
tribunal, placing technicality over the merit of the case.

He argued that citizens should not be disenfranchised because of
violence or other electoral misgivings.

“The lesson should be drawn home to everybody that all members
of the tribunal or the court should be present before they can take
part in a judgment,” he said.

“When a judge has conducted a case 90 percent, the judge that
takes his place is not allowed to use the records, he has to start
all over again. That is the point the Supreme Court is making here,
and I think I support the decision.

“If there was violence or something was wrong and you are unable
to vote, I don’t know why it is something wrong in being allowed,
on another day, to vote… I think the Supreme Court should have just
completed that so that the issue would not arise again.

“Ballot boxes have been carried away. Even if you voted, your
result cannot count and then INEC decides according to its
guidelines to repeat election in such a place, what is wrong with
that?

“I think the Supreme Court should have pronounced on that so
that you don’t have a situation where somebody would pre-judge the
outcome of election by creating confusion in some areas where he is
weak and then insisting that those people there should not have an
opportunity to vote and then he wins by only allowing election in
areas where he is strong; that is the whole idea of supplementary
election so that everybody can have an opportunity. I think the
Supreme Court should have made a pronouncement on that; whether it
is right or wrong.”

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