The ongoing legal battle over the outcome of the June 20, 2026 Ekiti State governorship election has suffered another setback on Wednesday as counsel to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Ebenezer Akinbuli, again boycotted the Ekiti State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, citing security concerns arising from previous appearances.
Recall the tribunal had earlier adjourned proceedings from September 16 to September 23 to enable the Court of Appeal President consider the petitioners’ request for a change of venue following the alleged assault on SDP counsel.
However, SDP’s Counsel in his absence, served another letter to the court, seeking adjournment of the hearing pending the time that Appeal Court would address the application for the relocation of hearing.
During the proceedings, the chairman of the three-man tribunal, Justice Abubakar Kutigi informed the court that the President of the Court of Appeal, Hon. Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, had declined to order the transfer of the sitting, adding that the tribunal was properly constituted to continue hearing the petitions.
While counsels to the All Progressive Congress (APC) and Independent National Electoral Committee (INEC), Kabir Akingbolu and Bunmi Ipinlaiye denied awareness of the order of the Appeal Court which was served through the secretary of the Tribunal, Justice Kutigi further adjourned the case to September 24 for the continuation of the hearing in order to clear all doubts.
Speaking with journalists after the proceedings, APC counsel, Kabir Akingbolu, said the petitioners had renewed their demand for the relocation of the tribunal from Ado-Ekiti to another venue, stressing that the request for relocation was made in respect of the SDP petition and not the Action Alliance (AA) petition.
Akingbolu, however, described the petition challenging Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s victory as unusual, arguing that the margin and voting pattern in the election made the case unprecedented in his view.
The APC counsel further alleged that the petitioners were resorting to different tactics to delay the proceedings, including seeking repeated adjournments, while urging them to focus on the substantive issues before the tribunal.
