Ekiti Tribunal Berates Action Alliance Over Court Appearance

The three-member panel of the Election Tribunal hearing the petitions arising from the June 20, 2026 governorship election in Ekiti State has frowned on the Action Alliance (AA) over its perceived lukewarm attitude in pursuing its petition.

The chairman of the panel, Justice Abubakar Kutigi, made the feelings of the judges known during the sitting, following the failure of the AA to bring its witnesses to the Tribunal as earlier promised making it the third consecutive time the party has failed to make its witnesses available to give evidence.

The AA could not come up with any of its witnesses at the tribunal sitting at the weekend after the Social Democratic Party (SDP) brought six witnesses who testified on the conduct of the election in the units and wards where they served as party and collation agents.

Both the AA and the SDP which scored 126 votes and 179 votes respectively in the governorship poll are challenging the return of Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC) by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

INEC is the first Respondent in the petition while Oyebanji is the second Respondent.

All the SDP witnesses for the day were led in their examination-in-chief by the party’s counsel, Ebenezer Akinbuli and were equally cross-examined by counsel to INEC, Tunde Salako and counsel to Oyebanji, Adetunji Oso, SAN.

After all the SDP witnesses had given evidence and the case adjourned till Monday, September 28, the tribunal chairman then urged Akinbuli, who is also the counsel representing the AA to continue the prosecution of the petition with presentation of the party’s witnesses as promised on the last day of sitting.

But Akinbuli’s request for another adjournment on the premise of looking around for witnesses did not sit well with the tribunal judges as the chairman of the panel, Justice Kutigi, expressed reservations with the failure of the counsel to proceed with the case.

Justice Kutigi said: “If you are not interested in this case, you these people (AA) should just close your case. If at this stage you have not made up your mind on what you want to do, we can’t just keep adjourning every time and you know that this is an election petition.