The Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof. Itse Sagay has reacted to the Supreme Court ruling on Osun State governorship election, describing it as incomplete.
Speaking exclusively to Dailytrust, Sagay said although he agreed fully with the Supreme Court Justices over their declaration of Governor Gboyega Oyetola as the duly elected governor of Osun state, the court should have made an affirmative pronouncement if INEC was right to have declared the poll inconclusive and subsequently held a supplementary poll.
He said the failure of the Supreme Court to make a definite pronouncement on the validity of the supplementary election conducted by INEC may continue to throw up election petitions in subsequent elections.
“The lesson should be drawn home to everybody that all members of the tribunal or the court should be present before they can take part in a judgment,” he said.
“When a judge has conducted a case 90 percent, the judge that takes his place is not allowed to use the records, he has to start all over again. That is the point the Supreme Court is making here, and I think I support the decision.
“If there was violence or something was wrong and you are unable to vote, I don’t know why it is something wrong in being allowed, on another day, to vote… I think the Supreme Court should have just completed that so that the issue would not arise again.
“Ballot boxes have been carried away. Even if you voted, your result cannot count and then INEC decides according to its guidelines to repeat election in such a place, what is wrong with that?
“I think the Supreme Court should have pronounced on that so that you don’t have a situation where somebody would pre-judge the outcome of election by creating confusion in some areas where he is weak and then insisting that those people there should not have an opportunity to vote and then he wins by only allowing election in areas where he is strong; that is the whole idea of supplementary election so that everybody can have an opportunity.
“I think the Supreme Court should have made a pronouncement on that; whether it is right or wrong.”
