Saki West lawmaker seat declared vacant following Appeal Court ruling  

MOUTHPIECE NGR reports that the Oyo State House of Assembly on Tuesday declared the seat of the lawmaker representing Saki West vacant following his sack by the Court of Appeal. 

Following the Court of Appeal’s dismissal of Hon. Shittu Ibrahim, the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Adebo Ogundoyin, declared that the two-thirds of members of the House must be 21 when the House reconvened on Tuesday after the Parliamentary Staff called off their strike.

Recall that the All Peoples Congress’s (APC) Mr. Shittu Ibrahim was declared the winner of the March 18, 2023, election by INEC.

It was announced that Ibrahim had received 13,692 votes, defeating Julius Okedoyin, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, who had received 13,422 votes.

Okedoyin and the PDP, not pleased with the announcement, went to the tribunal, claiming irregularities, excessive voting, and disregard for election regulations.

The three-person panel’s chairman, Justice Jubril Anaja, delivered a unanimous decision, finding that the petition had substance and that the petitioners had proven their claims beyond a reasonable doubt.

According to Anaja, the election’s result could be significantly impacted by the revocation of the results from Wards 6 Unit 7 and 11 Unit 19 of the constituency, which had 1,285 voter cards gathered.

The tribunal observed that over 1,000 voters were disenfranchised, even though the declared winner trailed the petitioner by 270 votes in Wards 6, Unit 7, and Ward 11, Unit 19.

In an attempt to overturn the decision made by the electoral Petition Tribunal in September, Hon. Shittu has gone to the Appellate Court. 

The Court of Appeal’s decision maintained the lower court’s decision, directed INEC to revoke the certificate that Shittu Ibrahim had previously been given, and mandated a new election be held in the two voting places.