Akwa Ibom YPP gov’ship candidate wants tribunal venue moved to Abuja

The governorship candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) in Akwa Ibom State in the March 18 governorship election in the state, Senator Bassey Albert, has appealed to the President of the Court of Appeal to relocate the Election Petition Tribunal from Uyo to Abuja for safety reasons.

Albert, in a June 21 petition by his lawyer, Ahmed Raji (SAN), claimed that the tribunal venue was no longer safe for him and witnesses.

He also copied the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Olukayode Ariwoola and the tribunal chairman.

Albert also contended that he ought to have been returned winner of the March 18 governorship election in the state.

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Raji, in the petition, claimed that a staff of the University of Uyo, Daniel Akpan, declined to give evidence for the petitioners on the basis that his life was being threatened, to the extent he had to remove his family from Uyo.

He further stated that Akpan was compelled to testify on whether he is a staff of the University of Uyo, who certified the academic records of Governor Umo Eno as to his qualifications, adding that an incident on June 20 compelled his client to seek a relocation of the tribunal.

“The aggregation of events…has irresistibly prompted me to write this letter, not only for the safety of our lawyers but for justice, equity and fairness, which can no longer be realised in Uyo.

“To this end, I hereby apply with humility, on behalf of myself, my team of lawyers and the good people of Akwa Ibom State, that the Governorship Election Tribunal sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, be relocated to Abuja”, the petition stated.

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