CHIEF Olusola Oke, a candidate of the People’s Democratic Party and one of the contestants in the October 20, 2012 gubernatorial election in Ondo State on Thursday launched his case before the election petition tribunal sitting in Akure.
However, one of the witnesses called to give evidence before the Justice Andovar Kaka’an-led tribunal, Julius Elusiyan, told the tribunal that he signed the result sheet under pressure.
Elusiyan, who was the agent of the party in Odigbo, said he voted after he was accredited by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The witness, under cross examination by the counsel for Governor Olusegun Mimiko, Ifedayo Adedipe, said he signed form EC8A after being pressurised to do so.
He, however, claimed that some of the voters who came to the unit where he worked as agent were not accredited, while some were fully accredited.
Another witness, Kunle Joseph from Igbara-Oke in Ifedore Local Government Area of the state, said he voted on the day of election without being accredited.
Buttressing what was contained in paragraph four of his statement on oath, where he claimed that there was no proper accreditation, Joseph told the tribunal that there was no accreditation before the election.
The PDP witness from Atosin-Idanre from Idanre Local Government Area, Tomiwa Odunayo, said there was no voting in the polling unit where he acted as the PDP agent on the day of the election, adding that no result was released in the polling unit, as voting did not take place.
Oke had approached the tribunal to challenge the victory of Mimiko at the election in the state.
The PDP candidate argued that the election was marred with irregularities, praying the tribunal to nullify the result as declared by INEC and order fresh election in the state.