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The Lagos State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has dismissed an application filed by Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, the Labour Party (LP)’s candidate, in the March 18 election, seeking to consolidate his petition with that of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Olajide Adediran.
The Tribunal also dismissed an application by Rhodes-Vivour seeking leave to call additional witnesses in proof of his petition.
Justice Ashom who read the rulings on behalf of the three man tribunal held that by a combined reading of Section 285(5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Section 132 of the Electoral Act 2022 as well as Paragraph 4 subsection(5)& (6) of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act & Paragraph 14(2), the law provides that petitions can be consolidated but care must be taken in doing so as the intricate details must be ascertained and the court must be satisfied that one judgment can resolve the two petitions satisfactorily.
In the instant case, the court took the view that the parties in the two petitions are different and in fact Rhodes-Vivour is a respondent in PDP’s petition. The court also noted that the issues and reliefs sought by the parties are also different and as such, there was no way the petitions could be consolidated.