Gov. Obaseki: his election being challenged

Jethro Ibileke/Benin
The Election Petition Tribunal in Edo State, has adjourned hearing of the petition filled by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and it’s candidate in the September 28, 2016 gubernatorial election, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, challenging the declaration of Mr. Godwin Obaseki of the APC, as winner of the election, till January 9, 2017.

The adjournment followed a unanimous agreement by Counsel of the Petitioners and Defendants, for commencement of the hearing proper, into the petition.

Chairman of the three-man Tribunal, Justice Ahmed Badamasi, who announced the date, also fixed December 12, 2016, for pre-hearing of the petition.

Lead Counsel for the Petitioners, Kehinde Pinheiro, SAN, had informed the Tribunal that Counsel for the parties in the matter had met and agreed, subject to the discretion of the Tribunal, that all the applications filed, shall abide hearing of the petition and that they be taken during final address.

He said Counsel also reached a consensus that pre-hearing of the election petition shall start next Monday, while hearing of the petition should commence in January.

Lead Counsel for 2nd and 3rd Respondents, Godwin Obaseki and the APC respectively, Wole Olanipekun (SAN) and Lateef Fagbemi, (SAN), aligned themselves with the position of Pinheiro’s submission.

Lead Counsel to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Onyinye Anumonye, however told the Tribunal that he was not part of the agreement, but he did not however oppose the agreed modality for the hearing of the petition.

Meanwhile, allegation of “deliberate contrived attempt by the ‎respondents to frustrate inspection of ballot papers used for the election,” raised by lead Counsel to the Petitioners, Pinheiro, generated heated argument among the Counsel.

He informed the Tribunal that whereas it ordered that five persons should represent each of the parties‎, the respondents were insisting that all their five representatives must inspect each ballot paper, alleging that because of their insistence, the machine which could scan 9,000 ballot papers in eight hours is only able to scan 1,787 ballot papers.

He also told the tribunal that the respondents‎ were insisting that they would not be present for the scanning exercise any day the tribunal was sitting, alleging that they were frustrating the exercise in cahoot with INEC.

He therefore, urged the Tribunal to order the respondents to comply with its earlier order.

The allegations of the petitioners’ Counsel was quickly objected to by Olanipekun, Fagbemi and INEC Counsel, Anumonye, who urged the Tribunal to direct the Petitioners’ Counsel to do the proper thing by coming with an application if he felt the Tribunal’s earlier order was being flouted.

Consequently, the Tribunal ordered Pinheiro to lay his complaints through an application.
Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone.