EDO: Tribunal affirms Obaseki as governor (Updated)

The Edo State Governorship Tribunal on Friday affirmed that Godwin Obaseki of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is the duly elected governor of the state.

The Tribunal ruled that the petitioner, Osagie Ize-Iyamu and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) failed to prove their case.

Ize Iyamu, and the PDP had in the substantive petition marked “EPT/EDS/GOV/2/2016″‎ urged the tribunal to declare him the rightful winner of the election, owing to alleged irregularities and rigging of the polls held September 28 last year, inn which he said he had scored the highest number of votes cast.

Read also: TRIBUNAL VERDICT: As Edo waits with bated breath

Chairman of the three-man panel, Justice Ahmed Badamasi, in the two hour ruling declared that the petitioners failed to support their pleadings with evidence as well as abandoned some pleadings in their petition.

He said, “The petitioners have failed to prove their case with credible evidence and it is therefore dismissed.

“The much talked about ticking and over voting by the petitioners have not been specifically proved beyond reasonable doubts. And not calling witnesses to prove their allegations of corrupt practices and over voting was fatal to their case and is deemed to have abandoned their pleadings.

“Accordingly, the petition has failed and is hereby dismissed.”

Respondents in the suit, which began on January 7 and ended on April 3, were Governor Obaseki, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the APC.

During the course of trial, the petitioners called 92 witnesses while Governor Obaseki called 68 witnesses.

The APC called 15 witnesses while INEC called none.

 

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