Delta Gov Tribunal: PDP floors APC again

BARRY AGBANIGBI, Asaba

The commencement of trial in the petition filed by the Delta State governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Olorogun O’tega Emerhor yesterday suffered a major set-back by three motions raised by the three sets of respondents in the suit.

Embattled Emerhor is challenging the declaration of Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as winner of the April 11 governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Okowa is the first respondent in the petition while the PDP and the INEC are the second and third respondents respectively.

At the resumption of the court session yesterday, counsel to the petitioners, Thompson Okpoko (SAN) raised the alarm that he was confronted with three motions from the respondents when he was supposed to call his witnesses.

But counsels to Okowa, PDP and INEC, Alex Iziyon, Timothy Kehinde and Nasir Abdu Dangiri respectively, argued that the motions were germane as they were aimed at setting aside two subpoenas in respect of two witnesses to be called.

According to Iziyon, the petitioner counsel did not make available the depositions and information about the two witnesses which he intended to call yesterday to the respondents, urging the petitioner to set aside the two witnesses and commence trial by calling other witnesses in view of the paucity of time.

But Okpoko countered, saying that the testimony of the two subpoenaed witnesses would be the foundation upon which the testimony of other witnesses would be based.

Okpoko informed that the subpoena was filed early for the respondents to have raised earlier motions of objection, explaining that it was filed on August 7 after the pre-trial report was read by the tribunal.

However, the tribunal adjourned the petition to August 20 for the hearing of the motions from the three sets of respondents.

Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Nasir Gunmi, while adjourning the matter, expressed dismay that “the whole week might not be productive, we are not happy.”