Cross River: INEC re-affirms John Owan-Enoh as APC governorship candidate

POLITICS

Cross River: INEC re-affirms John Owan-Enoh as APC governorship candidate

 

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday at a renewed sitting of the Governorship Elections Petition Tribunal in Calabar, Cross River, reaffirmed the nomination of Senator John Owan Enoh as the lawful candidate of the All Progressives Congress for the March 9 governorship election.

The commission, while arguing in a suit no EPT/CAL/COV01/2019, however, said “Sen. Enoh was not excluded from the elections as claimed by the petitioner since he participated in the exercise having been re-listed.”

Senator Owan Enoh had petitioned the electoral umpire, which is the Second Respondent and Governor Ben Ayade, the First Respondent in the matter alleged unlawful exclusion from the election.

Counsel to INEC, Dele Adeshina had stated that “Sen. Enoh was the duly nominated candidate of the APC and that the commission had issued a letter dated 8th March to that effect.

Apparently smarting from the petition, Adeshina said “the candidate, however, participated in the election and so was not excluded.”

In his argument, Counsel to Sen. Enoh, Awa Kalu (SAN), said the petitioner would not have participated in an election if he was excluded.

According to him, the issue of faction as raised by the first respondent Counsel does not exist in internal democracy especially when it has to do with the sponsorship or nomination of candidates.

He contended that “the issue of factions applies only in the parliament when there’s a crisis within a party leading to cross-carpeting by legislators and not on the basis of nomination of candidates for election.

He averred that ”Sen. Owan Enoh was duly nominated for the Governorship election by his party but was unlawfully excluded for the March 9 polls by the commission”.

The legal luminary, however, challenged the first and second respondents to be the first to prove otherwise, the petition on exclusion stressing that INEC had never argued against a phone call made by the State Electoral Commissioner (REC) at 12 pm on the elections day congratulating the petitioner for being relisted as the APC Candidate for the race.

Counsel to Sen. Ayade, Paul Erokoro (SAN) had argued that “though the Petitioner was nominated for the election but his nomination was done by a faction of his party”.

Justice Josiah Majebi has put the ruling on the onus of proof on exclusion or otherwise for Tuesday, March 17th 2019.

 

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El-Rufai vs Ashiru: What happened in court on Monday

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El-Rufai vs Ashiru: What happened in court on Monday

 

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday presented 17 witnesses out of the 685 it lined up as it opened its case against the declaration of Gov. Nasir El-Rufai as winner of the March 9, 2019 Governorship election in Kaduna State.

The PDP and its Governorship candidate in the poll, Alhaji Isah Ashiru are asking the state Governorship Election Petition Tribunal to nullify the election of El-Rufai and declare its candidate the winner, having scored the majority of valid votes cast during the election.

The petitioners, who joined INEC, APC and El-Rufai in the case, alleged that the poll was characterised by massive rigging, ballot box stuffing and violence in 110 wards in 12 local government areas of the state.

The LGAs all of which the PDP lost to the APC as declared by INEC, include Birnin Gwari, Giwa, Igabi, Ikara, Kaduna North, Kaduna South, Kubau, Kudan, Lere, Sabon Gari, Soba and Zaria.

The party said it had assembled 685 witnesses, mostly party agents and returning officers it assigned during the poll.

The PDP, at the resumed hearing on Monday, submitted names of 17 persons as first batch of witnesses who began testifying before the tribunal.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 684 PDP witnesses are expected to testify before the tribunal within 14 days.

Earlier, the Ibrahim Bako-led Tribunal had admitted in evidence various documents presented by the petitioners.

Elisha Kurah (SAN), Counsel to the petitioners, had presented certified true copies (CTC) of forms from polling units, ward collation centres, and local government collation Centres obtained from INEC.

Kurah also submitted INEC documents allegedly used to declare the winner of the March 9 election to the tribunal.

He told newsmen that the forms allegedly contained discrepancies that would be proved before the tribunal.

Kurah said: “the forms we tendered, were forms that INEC used during the election.

”Some of the forms were not signed by the agents, some were not stamped and, you find handwriting of one person on all the forms. I mean one person wrote everything in those forms we have presented.

“The Tribunal has accepted all the documents we presented and addmitted same in evidence.

“There are lots of differences between those INEC forms we presented to the Tribunal and that of the PDP agents,” he said.

The Counsel said: ” the witnesses have been assembled to speak on the forms and the lack of genuineness of the forms we collected from INEC.”

According to him, the witnesses would present genuine copies of the documents as they testify.

NAN reports that the witnesses are appearing based on the documents the Tribunal had earlier admitted.

Dr Musa Aliyu, Counsel to INEC said the commission had raised objection to some of the documents and would submit details of their objections when it address the Tribunal.

“The witnesses are coming to testify what happened during the March 9 poll.”

Also, Ibrahim Bawa (SAN), Counsel to the APC said his clients would present their objections in the course of the proceedings.

Bawa said the APC would also bring its witnesses to the Tribunal to prove that the petitioners had no case.

The Tribunal has adjourned to Tuesday, June 18 to continue, after taking three witnesses from Zaria LG.

 

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Presidential election: Nigeria sitting on gunpower – Fani-Kayode warns INEC

POLITICS

Presidential election: Nigeria sitting on gunpower – Fani-Kayode warns INEC

 

Femi Fani-Kayode, former Aviation Minister, has warned that Nigeria is sitting on a keg of gun powder that could trigger and ignite a monumental “cataclysmic explosion, the likes of which have never been seen”.

He said this in reaction to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, claim that they never used a server during the 2019 presidential election.

INEC had told the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal that its officials never transmitted election results from their polling units electronically during the just concluded presidential election.

However, Fani-Kayode urged the electoral commission to stop playing with the future of Nigerians.

In a series of tweets, Fani-Kayode wrote: “You said you had a server and told us how much you spent on it. You complained that others had illegally gained access to it and that they ought to be arrested. Yet when the matter got to court, you changed the story and said you have no server. What type of strange abracadabra is this?

“Please stop playing Russian roullete with the future of our country. People’s eyes are open and we are sitting on a keg of gunpowder right now. If care is not taken you will pull the trigger and ignite a monumental and cataclysmic explosion the likes of which have never been seen.”

 

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Ndoma-Egba leads eight other lawyers to defend APC candidates in Cross River

POLITICS

Ndoma-Egba leads eight other lawyers to defend APC candidates in Cross River

 

A former Senate Leader and former Chairman, Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN) has led a team of eight other lawyers to represent the House of Assembly candidates of the APC from the Central Senatorial District of Cross River State who are prosecuting their petitions before the Hon. Justice A. A. Babawale-led Tribunal.

Ndom-Egba said that after proceedings of the Tribunal that he believes in the capacity of the Election Petition Tribunals sitting in Calabar to dispense of the petitions before them fairly and objectively. He noted, “The judiciary has shown itself as a major bastion of Nigeria’s democracy over the years and has continued to be the last hope of the common man. ”

The Distinguished Senator and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, had earlier admonished all the candidates of the party who are pursuing election matters before the tribunal to do so with diligence, determination and hope, noting that from what he has observed in the days he has attended the tribunal sessions, the candidates have selected very capable and experienced lawyers to argue their matters.

Senator Ndoma-Egba, himself a litigant before the tribunal arising from his exclusion as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Central Senatorial District of Cross River State in the February, 2019 National Assembly elections, had in an earlier interaction with the candidates assured them of his support and encouragement as they seek justice.

He maintained, “The Party was massively supported during the elections and still enjoys a huge followership in the State” and sued for their continuous support and prayers of all APC faithful in the State for the candidates who are currently seeking redress in the Tribunal.”

When asked about how his matter was progressing in the tribunal, Ndoma-Egba responded that, “As a senior lawyer, I am mindful of the fact that commenting on a matter before a court or tribunal is sub-judice and superfluous”.

He, therefore, refrained from making any specific statement on the status of his petition before the tribunal, but reiterated that he is hopeful that justice will be served at the end of the tribunal’s work.

Candidates and supporters of the APC who thronged the Moore Road, Calabar premises of the tribunal, during every sitting expressed their appreciation of the gesture by Senator Ndoma-Egba.

They argued that it is uncommon for such a highly placed leader in society to offer his professional services and expertise, in such circumstances.

They enjoined other bigwigs of the party to emulate Senator Ndoma-Egba in rendering moral and financial support to the party and its candidates who are pursuing litigation before the Election Petition Tribunal. The matter had earlier been adjourned to August 15 for filing of written addresses and hearing.

 

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