Surulere Representative Seat: APC’s Okunlola’s election is confirmed by the Tribunal

THE National/State Assembly Election Tribunal, sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, yesterday validated the election of Mr Lanre Okunlola of the All Progressives Congress, APC, to the House of Representatives as the member representing Surulere Federal Constituency II.

The tribunal dismissed the petition of the Peoples Democratic Party’s Olatunji Shoyinka, who had contested Okunlola’s victory, in a unanimous judgement.

Shoyinka’s petition failed, and the tribunal agreed with Okunlola’s lawyer that it should be rejected.

The panel also imposed a N200,000 punitive cost on Shoyinka and in favour of Okunlola and the APC.

Shoyinka and the PDP were the petition’s first and second petitioners, while Okunlola, the APC, and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, were the petition’s first, second, and third respondents.

The petitioners, through their counsel, had challenged Okunlola’s victory on two grounds, claiming that the election was invalid because of corrupt, illegal, and wrongful practises carried out by INEC in collusion with Okunlola and the APC through falsification, manipulation, and forgery of results carried out by the third respondent, INEC.

The panel upheld Okunlola’s argument and confirmed his election as the legislator representing Surulere Federal Constituency II in its verdict issued yesterday.

Okunlola won with 27,725 votes, while Shoyinka came in second with 4,875 votes.