TRIBUNAL SAYS OGBORU’S PETITION AGAINST OKOWA IS GOLD DIGGING, OPPORTUNISTIC
OGHENETEJIRI NYERHOVWO
Delta State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Asaba has affirmed the re-election of Dr.Ifeanyi Okowa, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last governorship election in the state just as it described Chief Great Ogboru’s petition as gold digging, opportunistic which failed.
The Tribunal headed by Justice Suleiman Belgore with two other panel members was approached by Chief Great Ogboru, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to nullify the election giving over voting, failure to adhere to electoral guidelines among other as reasons why the Tribunal should annul the election.
In the petition with number EPT/DT/GOV/01/2019, Chief Ogboru said that Governor Okowa did not score valid votes in the election to be declared winner by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), he also told the court that there were over voting and multiple voting in 896 polling units across 23 out of the 25 local government areas of the state.
However, in a unanimous decision, the three-man Tribunal dismissed Ogboru’s petition for failing to prove the allegations of voting without accreditation, illegal allocation of unlawful votes and multiple voting.
The tribunal also held that Ogboru’s petition lacks specifics in its insufficient pleadings, adding further that the petition was bereft of details.
According to the judgement, “there is gross insufficiency of pleadings in this case. The paragraphs are too generic without specifics. What the petitioners did was to lump all the polling units being disputed together. Having faulted the petition, the petitioners failed to prove that the first respondent was not duly elected by majority of lawful votes at the election, and we so hold.”
The judgement added, “it is incorrect to contend that the first respondent did not win the election by a majority of lawful votes. It is crystal clear that he scored a total of 925,274 votes as against 215,938 votes scored by the first petitioner. We find the declaration and return as shown in exhibits tendered satisfied the provision of section 25 and 69 of the Electoral Act, 2010 as amended. We have no reason to upturn that declaration. This petition is gold digging, opportunistic, it failed and it is hereby dismissed.”
However, counsel to the petitioners (Ogboru and APC), N. Icheko while thanking the tribunal for the judgment, said the judgement would be tested at the appeal court.
Also responding to the judgement, counsels to the first and second respondents, D.D. Dodo (SAN) and A.T. Kehinde respectively described the judgment as well researched, adding that it will further enrich the nation’s electoral jurisprudence.
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