Appeal Court To Deliver Judgement on Edo Gubernatorial Poll Friday
The Court of Appeal sitting in Benin City, Edo State will on Friday deliver judgement on the appeal brought before it by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate in the September 28 governorship election in the state, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.
PDP and Ize-Iyamu are against the judgement of the Justice Ahmed Badamasi-led Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which validated the election of Mr Godwin Obaseki of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the duly elected governor of the state.
The appeal court on Thursday informed parties in the case of its readiness to deliver judgement in the case.
Advertisement
Ize-Iyamu and the PDP have listed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Godwin Obaseki and the APC as first second and third respondent respectively.
Ize-Iyamu and the PDP, among other things prayed for an order of the court to set aside the judgement of the Tribunal and the nullification of the return of Obaseki as Governor, while demanding the declaration of Ize-Iyamu as governor having scored the highest number of lawful votes cast in the election.
The PDP and Ize-Iyamu alleged that the tribunal judges erred and truncated their right to fair hearing through the unequal treatment given to the cases of the parties, “by first finding fault, discrediting, disbelieving and dismissing their petition before considering it at all and reviewing the testimonies of the witnesses of the respondents and, thus, occasioning a miscarriage of justice.”
They told the Court of Appeal that the Lower Court erred in law and truncated their right to fair hearing where, in consideration of their case, it failed “totally” to consider and make any pronouncement on the issue concerning, “whether the second respondent was duly elected by the majority of lawful votes cast” in the election “and if not, whether the first petitioner (Ize-Iyamu) is not entitled to be returned as the governor of Edo State.”
Advertisement
INEC, Obaseki and the APC on their parts asked the Appeal Court to disregard the appeal by the appellants, while they also filled a cross appeal asking the Appeal Court to invalidate the order given by the tribunal for the recount of the ballot papers used in the conduct of the election in four local government areas of the state.
