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From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
Candidate of Labour Party (LP), Chief Frank Chinasa, has urged the National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Umuahia, to set aside victory of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ben Kalu.
This is even as the Action Alliance (AA) appealed to the Tribunal to cancel the election entirely and pleaded for fresh poll.
Presenting his final address in a petition filed by Chinasa against INEC’s declaration of Kalu as winner, lead counsel to the petitioner, Yunus Usman restated what he canvassed earlier that while some of the certified true copies of the documents deposed to before the tribunal by the 1st respondent bore Osisiogu Benjamin Okezie, others bore Kalu Benjamin Okezie, and Benjamin Okezie Osisiogu, respectively.
Usman contended that of all the nine contentious documents, the 1st respondent did not produce any single supportive documents emanating from the institutions he claimed to have attended, rather he tendered only affidavits to the Tribunal.
The petitioner’s counsel submitted that since it was evident the 1st respondent had no certificate with which he contested the said election, the Tribunal should nullify Kalu’s election and declare Chinasa winner of the poll.
Daniel Anya, counsel to the AA candidate, Ifeanyi Igbokwe, restated his earlier submission that his client party’s name and logo were excluded from the ballot box.
He submitted that despite a protest letter by AA to INEC through the National Secretary of the party, Suleiman Abdulrasheed, over the omission, the electoral umpire din not do anything.
On this strength the counsel prayed the Tribunal to cancel the election and canvassed for a fresh poll and to order INEC to ensure AA’s name and logo would be on the ballot paper this time around.
Objecting to the submissions, counsel to the 1st respondent, asked the Tribunal to dismiss the petitions as they were lacking in merit.
While submitting that his client never forged any document, Nwufo, contended that all the documents bearing different names of the 1st respondent were duly harmonised and accordingly published in the Federal Government Gazette.
Counsel to 2nd respondent, the All Progressives Congress (APC),Viginus Nwankwo, argued that the onus of proof in this matter lies with the petitioner.
The counsel told the Tribunal that non inclusion of AA’s name and logo on the ballot paper was a preelection matter which it has no jurisdiction to entertain and prayed it to dismiss the matter.
After listening to the parties, the presiding Judge of the three-man tribunal, adjourned the matter for judgement which date he said would be communicated to the lead counsels in due course.
