EDO GOVERNORSHIP PETITION TRIBUNAL UPDATE ~ TRIBUNAL ACCEPTS 988 VOTERS REGISTERS AS ADDITIONAL EXHIBITS FOR PDP

By Victor Osehobo Ofure.

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and its candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu in the September 28 2016 Edo state governorship elections as at today has presented a total of 988 INEC Voters Registers as  additional evidence to the Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Benin City.

The registers which were also admitted in evidence and admitted as exhibits by the tribunal, being the INEC Verified register of all the eligible voters was for the 12 out of the 18 local governments in the state.

The registers which were tendered by Mr Roland Otaru, SAN in his capacity as the counsel for the PDP and Pastor Ize-Iyamu were those used for polling units/voting centres in Akoko Edo, Egor , Igueben, Etsako West , Owan West, Etsako Central, And Etsako East.

The rest were for Ovia southwest and Ovia Northeast , Owan East, Esan Central and Ikpoba okha local government council areas which were also admitted in evidence and labeled as exhibits by the tribunal.

Otaru tendered 79 copies of the INEC voters register for Etsako central, 84 for Etsako East, 97 for Ovia south west, 144 for Ovia Northeast, 160 for Owan East, 85 for   Esan Central  and 339 for Ikpoba-Okha local government areas.                  
 It would be recalled that last week, the INEC voters register for 5 local governments were also tendered, by Mr Yusuf Ali, SAN, and admitted as evidence and marked exhibits by the tribunal.

The affected local governments and voters register were  Akoko-Edo, Egor, Igueben (46), Etsako West and Owan West.                                   It is expected that the tribunal will receive the registers for the remanning six local government areas before adjourning proceedings.    

The evidences were however not objected to neither by the counsels to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Governor Godwin Obaseki nor the All Peoples Congress, APC.

After examining the copies of the voters register presented to them by an official of the tribunal  counsels to the INEC, Governor Obaseki and the APC replied , "No objection", which facilitated their acceptance as evidence.

INEC, Obaseki and APC are first to third respondents respectively, in the petition filed by Ize-Iyamu and the PDP challenging the INEC declaration of Obaseki and the APC winner of the September 28 2016 governorship elections in the state.

The tribunal chairman, Mr Justice Ahmed Badamasi, presided over today's sitting along with the two other members of the panel which proceeded on break when this report was prepared.

Edoko Wilson Edoko [SAGG].