Delta guber: Tribunal grants Ogboru’s application

By Emma Amaize, Austen Ogwuda and Bulou Kosin
THE Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Asaba, Friday, ruled in favour of an application by petitioner, Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru of the Democratic People Party, DPP, for judgment without full-blown trial.
Also, the Legislative Houses Election Petition sitting in Asaba struck out a petition by Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, senatorial candidate in Delta South Senatorial District in the last National Assembly election, Hon. Temi Harriman, challenging the election of Senator James Manager of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on grounds that the petitioner had abandoned her petition.
The Governorship tribunal, which is adjudicating over the petition by Chief Ogboru against the victory of first respondent, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan in the April 26 governorship election, gave the ruling following an application by Ogboru, asking for judgment without full hearing.
His counsel, Nichols Ichekor, in moving the motion, said if the tribunal found merit  in the application, that ends the matter and the court would have assisted all parties and everyone go home.
Opposing the application, the counsel to first, second (PDP) and third (INEC) respondents,  Ken Mozia, Jolone Ikomi and Onyinye Azumonye submitted it was not tenable to give judgment without full hearing with Azumonye stressing, “There can be no amendment to Form TF 008 and parties are bound by the answers they had already given”.
Tribunal chairman, Justice Abisoye Ayo, however, stated in her ruling that the petitioners had the rights to make the application in the pre-hearing stage.
The tribunal had earlier warned the respective parties to be “serious” to enable it round off pre-hearing session within the 14 days allotted to it.
“All parties have to get serious, we won’t tolerate disobedience to court orders”, she said.
Chairman of the Legislative Houses election tribunal, Justice Yakubu Dakwak,  in his ruling, held that the petitioner, Hon Harriman failed to file a proper application that would necessitate a pre-hearing of the petition within the prescribed the time frame in the Electoral Act.
Counsel to Temi Harriman, Mr. A.M. Oriakhi, had, in an application for the petitioner, prayed the court to direct INEC, amongst other things, to produce and/or make available for the inspection of the applicants and /or their representatives the polling documents used in the National Assembly elections, held, April 9, to enable the applicants to maintain their petitions, challenging the results of the said election.
Similarly, the Dakwak-led tribunal also dismissed the petition by former member of the House of Representatives, Doris Uboh of PDP, challenging the election of Mr. Victor Nwokolo of Accord Party, as the winner of Ika Federal Constituency seat.
The Ika Federal Constituency election generated a lot of controversy following the revelation by the returning officer and university don, Dr. Godwin Avwioro , that he was forced to announce results at gun point.