Gboyega Nasir Isiaka
The
Ogun State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in
the April 11 governorship election, Gboyega Isiaka, has described the
$3.2bn light rail project contract signed by the governor, Senator
Ibikunle Amosun with China Civil Engineering Construction Company, on
Monday, as a ‘misplaced priority.’
He said this on Thursday in Abeokuta
shortly after submitting his petition to the National and State Houses
of Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal, challenging the victory of
Amosun, who was re-elected for second term.
Amosun had said the rail project would cover intra and inter-city routes in the state.
Isiaka argued that the project should
not be the priority of the state for now, as there were schools and
health facilities that had decayed and needed urgent attention. He noted
that there were many things the governor did not tell the people of the
state about the project.
He said, “One wonders where and when the
government conceptualised the project. Was it debated at any state
executive council meeting or budget retreat? Was it advertised or bid
for? What is going to be the economic and environmental impact upon the
economy and the geography of the state respectively?
“How would such humongous project be funded and under what repayment terms?”
Among other claims Isiaka made at the
tribunal, he said, he had won in 14 out of 20 local governments in the
state, going by the field reports from his party agents. He accused
officials of INEC of conniving with some leaders of APC in the state to
manipulate the results of the election which he said was in his favour.
He said, “On the night of that election
and as polling booth results filtered in across the state, I had a clear
lead in 14 local governments while the gap was very close in the six
other council areas of Ogun Central Senatorial district and Ado-Odo-Ota
in Ogun West Senatorial district.
“Let it be stated that I have obtained copies of the complete results and we have done our due diligence on it.
“We have got briefs from our officers on
the field that day and I must state that the result is a manifestation
of unprecedented manipulation, falsification of results, usage of
uncollected PVCs by unauthorised and unaccredited APC supporters, usage
of fake polling booths and several other infractions.
“In few weeks, events will begin to unfold at the tribunal.”
The Chairman of the three-man Tribunal,
Justice Ebiowei Tobi, in his inaugural speech, warned that it would have
zero-tolerance for corruption and unnecessary delays by litigants and
counsels.
Flanked by his colleagues, Justice
Adekunle Lawal and Hon. Quadi Adamu Usman, he described the assignment
as a national and divine assignment and therefore not ready to mortgage
their conscience.
He said, “We want to state clearly even
at the risk of sounding repetitive that we would adhere to our
constitutional responsibility and the oath we took before Hon. Chief
Justice of Nigeria.”
Justice Tobi called for cooperation of
all stakeholders and warned politicians not to attempt to influence the
panel’s decisions in any way.
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