Edo Election Tribunal To Sit On Singular Petition by ADP

The Edo State governorship election tribunal when it finally begins sitting, anytime soon, will have only one petition on its schedule. The petition is that filed on October 5, 2020 by the Action Democratic Party, ADP and its candidate, Iboi Lucky Emmanuel, as first and second petitioners.

The ADP which is one of the 14 political parties which contested the election and its candidate, is asking the tribunal to declare the PDP candidate who is the serving Governor of Edo state, Mr Godwin Obaseki as, “not qualified to contest the election”.

The petitioners say they are relying on several documents including the INEC forms EC9 and CF001, which the 3rd respondent submitted to the 2nd respondent, the affidavit deposed by the 3rd respondent at the FCT on 7-6-16, and the Certificate of the University of Ibadan, ” allegedly issued to the to the 3rd respondent bearing the date of 7-6-16″.

It also said that it will rely on the ,”undated Certificate of the University of Ibadan submitted by the 3rd respondent; the nomination form/expression of interest procured by the 3rd respondent in respect of the Edo State Governorship Election of 19-9-20″, and the, “list of Vice-Chancellors of the University of Ibadan from 1947 till date”.

The other documents the petitioners say they will be relying on are , ” e-newspaper publication announcing the demise of Professor Tamuno evidence to show that the said Professor Tekena Tamuno who was the VC of the University of Ibadan from 1975 to November 1979 had not only died in 2015 but could not have signed a document purported to be a document of the University of Ibadan after his retirement and death”.

Lastly the petitioners say the last document they will rely on, “the purported University certificate which the 3rd respondent claims was issued by the University of Ibadan is undated”.

On the basis of all the aforementioned documents, they hpe to be able to convince the tribunal to declare, ” that the 3rd respondent was not qualified “, to contest the election and that by virtue of his non-qualification, “the votes credited to the PDP candidate should be null and void and of no value”.

The petition which was filed by a team of 7 Lawyers led by Sylvester Imhanobe esq. for the party has as first, second, third, fourth and fifth respondents respectively, the Independent National Electoral Commision, INEC, the PDP and its candidate, Mr Obaseki, and the APC and its candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu

The Independent National Electoral Commission declared the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Godwin Obaseki, as the winner of the September 19 2020 election with the APC candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu as runner up.

The APC and Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, were widely expected to file a petition, but the candidate has declared that they will challenge the outcome of the election at the tribunal but will pursue two pre-election cases already before the court.

He said pursuing these cases to logical conclusions is part of efforts to challenge the victory of Godwin Obaseki, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the election, because the PDP also has 13 pre-election matters against his party.

The PDP, through Mr Chris Osa Nehikhare, its publicity scribe however picked holes in Ize-Iyamu’s statement, “… that he will not contest his defeat at the election petition tribunal but continue the cases he instituted against the PDP and Governor Godwin Obaseki”.

According to Nehikhare “While we hold that Ize-Iyamu has the right to approach the courts for whatever reason, it is trite for him to allude to the cases the PDP filed against him as the reason for his actions. This attempt to justify a legal action against the PDP and Governor Obaseki is disingenuous and destined to fail”.

Mr Nehikhare argued that, “Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu should know that he cannot retrieve what he lost at the polls at the court. The reality is that Edo has been reset and all hands are needed to sustain the gains of the last four years and move the state to greater heights”.

Meanwhile seven candidates and their parties in the election namely Akhigbe Benjamin Ehiabi of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Lucky Osagie Idehen of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Igbineweka Osamuede of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Amos Osalumese Areloegbe of the Action Peoples Party (APP), Stevie Nash Ozono of the Nigeria People’s Party (NRS), Felix Ikezoe Obayangbon of the SDP and Akhalamhe Amiemenoghena of Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), like the APC and its candidate say they are not against filing petition but will support any party that does so.

President of the Court of Appeal, Monica Dongban-Mensem, on September 21, 2020 set up the Edo governorship elections tribunal to preside over petitions arising from the concluded election. The tribunal’s secretary, Mr Sunday Martins in a statement said the panel will conduct sittings at the High Court Complex, located on the Sapele Road, Benin City.

“The general public is hereby put on notice that the honourable president of the court of appeal of Nigeria, Hon. Justice M.B. Dongban-Mensem, has established the election petition tribunal secretariat and accordingly constituted a panel in respect of the governorship election conducted in Edo State,” the statement read.#