Tribunal orders substituted service of Rhodes-Vivour’s petition on Sanwo-Olu

The motion ex-parte filed by the Labour Party candidate, Gbadegbo Patrick Rhodes-Vivour, for substituted service on the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, was approved by the Lagos State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.

The Tribunal issued the directive after learning that Sanwo-Olu had been avoiding receiving the petition’s service from Rhodes-Vivour through his attorney, Olagbade Benson.

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Benson asserted during yesterday’s tribunal session that when the court representative arrived at Governor Sanwo-olu’s office to serve him, he declined to accept the document from the bailiff.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Sanwo-Olu the winner of the March 18 governorship election, but the LP candidate had challenged that decision.

He requested that the Tribunal declare the governor ineligible due to “non-compliance” with the Electoral Act of 2022 and INEC’s rules.

Rhodes-Vivour, the only petitioner, named the All Progressives Congress (APC), Sanwo-Olu, the Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, and INEC as respondents in his petition.

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In addition, the Labour Party candidate claimed that Sanwo-Olu’s election was invalid due to fraud or other violations of the Electoral Act of 2022 and the 1999 Constitution.

Furthermore, according to Rhodes-Vivour, the governor was not legitimately elected with a majority of the valid votes cast in the election.