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From Judex Okoro, Calabar
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has closed its case in the ongoing Cross River Governorship Elections Petitions Tribunal with one witness.
The People’s Democratic Party candidate at the last governorship elections in Cross River State, Professor Sandy Onor, has closed his case in his petition against the election of the Senator Bassey Out with four witnesses.
The Commission, which opened its case today, also closed it after calling its head of operations Agwu Kenneth as its sole witness.
Agwu, who was introduced to the tribunal by the Commission’s Counsel K.O. Balogun, told the tribunal that he was at the centre of the elections just as he adopted his written statement on oath earlier deposed on the 30th of April, 2023 and also adopted same as his evidence before the tribunal.
Under Cross examination by counsel to the PDP, Dr. Jonah Musa, SAN, Agwu said he confirmed that the information supplied in Form EC9 formed the basis for which the commission said the second and third respondent are qualified to stand for the election.
He also told the tribunal that he did not verify if the third respondent was granted a waiver from getting citizenship in the UK because the information he supplied was under Oath, stating that INEC published the list of candidates for the elections as stated in the electoral act and at that stage anyone who had reasons to object was entitled to go to court.
He also disclosed that INEC is not aware of any judgment stating that any of the documents submitted by the second and third respondents are not authentic.
At the end of the day’s proceedings, the head of the tribunal, Justice Oken Inneh, adjourned till Tuesday, July 18, 2023 for the second and third respondents to open their defense.
Speaking after the day’s proceedings, Counsel to the PDP, Dr. Jonah Musa, SAN, said INEC called their sole witness and closed its case, adding “the witness came to testify and then we confronted him with the form EC9 of the governor and he admitted that there were discrepancies on the Oath he swore and the certificates they tendered”, he said.
On his part, counsel to the second and third respondents, Professor Mike Ozekhome, said: “The petition is dead on arrival as the petitioners are hammering on a matter they had lost. There are no discrepancies in the dates and in any case if there are, the Electoral Act gave the opportunity to anyone who felt documents submitted to INEC were not clean documents to go to court and that would have been a pre-election matter not an election petition.”
According to him, the so-called discrepancies are the difference between the year of entry and the graduation year.
