Last minutes efforts by the Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun and his party, All Progressives Congress (APC) to convince the tribunal to strike out the petition challenging their victory at the April 11, this year’s election were yesterday dismissed by the three-man panel headed by Justice Henry Olusiyi.

Amosun and his party, had, once again, challenged the jurisdiction and competence of the tribunal, thereby asking for the dismissal of the PDP’s petition on account of “irregularity, incompetence and lack of jurisdiction of the honorable tribunal to determine the petition as constituted”.

Counsel to the first respondent (Amosun), John Olusola Baiyeshea (SAN) and George Adeniyi of the APC, had filed separate applications dated August 3, 2015, seeking “an order setting aside the entire proceedings and report of the pre-hearing session on account of lack of jurisdiction of the honorable tribunal.

Chairman of the three- man tribunal panel, Justice Henry Olusiyi, said the applications were abuse of court processes and unnecessary waste of time of the tribunal.

The applications were brought pursuant to section 6 and section 36 (6) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and paragraphs 18 (1) – (4), 47 (1) and 53 (5) of the first schedule to the Electoral Act, 2010 as amended.

According to the motion on notice obtained by our correspondent, the 1st and 2nd respondents sought for an order setting aside the entire proceedings and report of the pre-hearing session which was closed on July 13.

In the alternative, the respondents also sought the order consequentially dismissing and/or striking out the petition on account of irregularities, incompetence and/or lack of jurisdiction of the tribunal to determine the petition as constituted.