The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), yesterday, commenced its defence before the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja by tendering three documents in evidence.
Dr Asue Ighodalo and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are challenging the victory of Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the September 2024 election.
Tendering the documents on behalf of INEC, their Counsel, A. Amaliu, said they include the Certified True Copy (CTC) of form EC8D, which is the collation of results at state level; the CTC of declaration of result and the CTC of regulations and guidelines for the conduct of elections 2022.
Counsel for the petitioners, Adetunji Oyeyipo, the governor’s counsel, Dr Onyechi Ekpeazu and Emmanuel Ukala for APC did not object to the admissibility of the documents.
The Chairman of the three-member tribunal, Wilfred Kpochi, admitted the documents as exhibits R1, R2 and R3.
Lead counsel for INEC, Kanu Agabi, had said that INEC will be calling their witnesses today and Amaliu explained that this is because the witnesses are coming from Benin in Edo and are unavailable today because of travel constraints.
Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Kpochi, who frowned at the development, called it “a waste of time.”
He noted that INEC had since Monday to make travel arrangements for their witnesses, demanding assurance that the witnesses would be ready today as promised.
Amaliu tried to remind the tribunal that they had been provisionally given 10 days for their defence, and intend to call three witnesses and hopefully close their case the same day, but Kpochi would have none it, saying “it was not cast on stone.”
