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The gubernatorial candidate of Alliance for Democracy (AD), Owolabi Salis and his Labour Party (LP) counterpart, Professor Ifagbemi Awamaridi, have asked the Lagos State Attorney General to investigate Governor-elect Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s voter card.
They alleged that Sanwo-Olu, who stood for the election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was declared as winner in error.
The candidates and their parties have filed a petition at the Gubernatorial Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Ikeja to stop Sanwo-Olu’s swearing-in as Governor of Lagos State on May 29.
Salis in a petition marked EPT/LAG/GOV/2/2019 want the tribunal to restraing the Chief Judge of Lagos State in the interim from swearing-in Sanwo-Olu as the Governor of Lagos State pending the determination of the petition at the tribunal.
He alleged that Sanwo-Olu has a criminal record in the United States and lacked a sound mind and should therefore, be disqualified from being sworn-in as governor.
Besides Sanwo-Olu, other respondents in the petition are, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), APC and INEC Residential Electoral Commissioner (REC), Returning Officer for the Governorship Election, Commissioner of Police and the Nigerian Army as first to sixth respondents.
Salis alleged that the second respondent (Sanwo-Olu) has been adjudged to be of unsound mind and is not capable of being sworn-in as governor of Lagos state.
However, in a statement yesterday, Salis and Awamaridi also asked security agencies to stop the Governor-elect from being sworn-in, if there was indication of use of fraudulent voter’s card, adding that they will alert the tribunal to the development.
They also alleged that Sanwo-Olu nominated APC, a party, as his Deputy Governor in his INEC form, as against Babafemi Hazmat, an individual, adding that this lends credence to his mental state.
“This was later corrected to Obafemi Hamzat. We don’t know at what point this was corrected. Sanwo-Olu voter’s card number is BBBBBBBBBB295797059, purportedly registered in Lagos.
“This card is showing invalid command on INEC voters status verification system which any Nigerian can cross check onhttps://voters.inecnigeria.org/dashboard/index. We suspect illegal invasion of INEC registration system. Sanwo-Olu may not have registered but this was smuggled into the INEC system,” they further stated, among other allegations.
They urged the tribunal to pay attention to the issued raised, as candidates have to be registered to contest elections, insisting that that AD won the election except for APC’s alleged fraud and malpractices.