Tribunal Yet To Deliver Judgment On Edo Governorship Poll

The Edo States Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal will on Friday deliver judgement in the petition brought before it by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.

Parties in the suit were on Wednesday informed about the tribunal’s decision to deliver judgment on the matter.

Pastor Ize-Iyamu is asking the tribunal to declare him winner of the September 28, 2016 governorship election which was won by Governor Godwin Obaseki of the All Progressive Congress (APC).

Respondents in the suit were Governor Obaseki, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the APC.

Hearing of the petition by the three-man tribunal headed by Justice Ahmed Badamasi began on January 7 and ended on April 3.

During the course of trial, the petitioners called 92 witnesses while Governor Obaseki called 68 witnesses.

The APC called 15 witnesses and INEC did not call any.

Counsel to INEC, Onyinye Anumonye, argued that there was no need to call witnesses that would repair the case already damaged by the petitioners’ witnesses.

Onyinye, however, tendered 203 documents including 200 copies of Form EC8(B) for the 18 local government areas, one copy of Form EC8(C) for the 18 LGAs of the state, Form EC8(D) for Edo State and Form EC8(E).

The petitioners tendered the voters’ register from 16 local government areas as well as the Forms EC8A, Form EC8B and EC8C, being results sheets for all the polling units, wards and local government areas of the state.

 

Source: |The Nation