The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the last governorship election in Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke, had an embarrassing outing on Wednesday at the sitting the of tribunal hearing the petition they filed against the election.
Most of the nine witnesses they called could not communicate effectively in the English language, could not read the statements they claimed to have authored in English and could not answer questions logically.
Some of the witnesses also claimed to have multiple signatures, samples of which the tribunal later admitted in evidence.
The tribunal Chairman, Justice Ibrahim Sirajo, had to intervene intermittently, to explain questions to the witnesses in pidgin English before they could respond.
The witnesses, who claimed to have acted as PDP agents during the election, were led in evidence by petitioners’ lawyer, Nathaniel Oke (SAN).
They were cross-examined by respondents lawyers, including Lasco Pwahomdi (for the Independent National Electoral Commission – INEC), Abiodun Owonikoko, SAN, (for Adegboyega Oyetola) and Lasun Sanusi, SAN, (for the All Progressive Congress – APC).
Ariyo Oladiti, who testified as the petitioners’ 4th witness (the first on Wednesday) before the Osun State governorship election tribunal, said he served as PDP’s agent in Polling Unit 10, Ward 7, Atakunmosa West Local Government.
When asked, under cross-examination by Pwahomdi, to explain irregularities in his signatures in his written deposition and the result sheet, Oladiti said he has multiple signatures.
He agreed that the signatures in both documents were not similar. The witness was later asked to sign a specimen of his different signatures in plane sheets, which the tribunal admitted in evidence.
