{"id":67778,"date":"2025-06-11T09:35:44","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T09:35:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/?p=67778"},"modified":"2025-06-11T09:35:44","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T09:35:44","slug":"ondo-tribunal-apc-demands-apology-over-ajayis-judgment-leak-allegation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/2025\/06\/11\/ondo-tribunal-apc-demands-apology-over-ajayis-judgment-leak-allegation\/","title":{"rendered":"Ondo Tribunal: APC Demands Apology Over Ajayi\u2019s Judgment Leak Allegation"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Onyeanya Ebere<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The All Progressives Congress (APC), in Ondo State has demanded an unreserved apology from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and its governorship candidate, Mr. Agboola Ajayi, over claims that the party had prior knowledge of the June 4 tribunal judgment affirming Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa\u2019s election.<\/p>\n

Ajayi had alleged that the APC\u2019s public celebration of the verdict in Akure indicated foreknowledge, suggesting a compromise of judicial integrity.<\/p>\n

He also vowed to appeal the decision of the Ondo State Election Petition Tribunal.<\/p>\n

The tribunal, led by Justice Benson Ogbu, dismissed Ajayi\u2019s petition and those of other candidates, describing them as lacking merit, diligence, and competence.<\/p>\n

The three-member panel delivered a unanimous judgment, upholding Aiyedatiwa\u2019s victory in the November 2023 governorship poll.<\/p>\n

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Ajayi expressed disappointment in the tribunal\u2019s findings, alleging that the justices did not properly analyze the evidence and exhibits presented.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe feel disappointed that we didn\u2019t get justice at that level, but we remain undeterred in our quest to ensure that justice is served and that honesty prevails in our electoral process,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ajayi added that the PDP would proceed to the Court of Appeal, stressing the importance of continuing the legal challenge despite what he described as the current challenges facing Nigeria\u2019s judiciary.<\/p>\n

In a swift reaction, the APC condemned Ajayi\u2019s insinuations, describing them as \u201can unfortunate comment\u201d and \u201can unwarranted assault on the integrity of Nigeria\u2019s judicial system.\u201d<\/p>\n

The party\u2019s Director of Media and Publicity, Mr. Steve Otaloro, said: \u201cSuch insinuations from Ajayi not only undermine the hard work and dedication of the judiciary but also disrespect the democratic process and the will of the electorate.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the PDP\u2019s claim was borne out of frustration after failing to secure a favorable outcome. \u201cTheir claims of judicial compromise are nothing more than a reaction to their electoral defeat.<\/p>\n

Had the verdict gone their way, they would have praised the same system they now disparage,\u201d Otaloro stated.<\/p>\n

The APC called on Ajayi and the PDP to apologise to the judiciary and the thousands of voters who participated in the election that gave Governor Aiyedatiwa \u201can overwhelming and legitimate victory.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Onyeanya Ebere   The All Progressives Congress (APC), in Ondo State has demanded an unreserved apology from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and its governorship candidate, Mr. Agboola Ajayi, over claims that the party had prior knowledge of the June 4 tribunal judgment affirming Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa\u2019s election. Ajayi had alleged that the APC\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":67779,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[186],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67778"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67778\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67780,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67778\/revisions\/67780"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}