The Ekiti state governorship election petition tribunal
sitting in Abuja, on Friday affirmed the return of Governor Ayodele
Fayose as the winner of the governorship election conducted by the
Independent National Election Commission, INEC,
last June.
The
panel held that the witnesses paraded by the petitioner were unable to
adduce concrete evidence to support the claims of corrupt practices at
the polling units and that their testimonies did not support such claims
that the election did not comply substantially with the provisions of
the Electoral Act.
“The testimonies of these witnesses
are unsatisfactory and their inability to give the names of the polling
units as well as the names of their agents at those unnamed polling
units shows that most of them that gave evidence of these alleged non
compliance did not vote at the election as such their testimonies failed
to support their claims. None of them gave evidence on the improper
accreditation or manipulation of accreditation. The petitioner failed to
substantiate the allegation of improper accreditation or non
accreditation of voters “
The panel also held that
failure of the petitioner to produce witnesses from most of the polling
units to substantiate the allegation of improper and or non
accreditation of voters at the polling units damaged the substance of
the petition.
Similarly it rejects the claim of the APC that the
election was systematically and scientifically conducted by the use of
indelible photo chronic and vanishing inks that fades within minutes in
such a way to favour the emergence of the PDP candidate at the election.
The
panel also held that as at the time Fayose declared his interest to
contest the Ekiti state Governorship election, that the All Progressives
Congress, APC, was aware of his alleged disqualification and that the
issue was already being canvassed before an Ekiti state high court
before the election which makes the issue a pre election matter which
the election petition tribunal does not have the jurisdiction to
entertain. And thereafter struck out that ground of the APC’s petition.
Similarly,
the panel held that section 19 and 20 of the Electoral Act provides for
the display of the voters register 30 days to the election and noted
that a diligent political party ought to have complained against any
failure by the electoral umpire to comply with that provision and insist
that the issue of contravention of code of conduct, like the issue of
Fayose’s non qualification, falls within those issues considered as pre
election issues, and subsequently struct out that ground of the petition
in favour of the PDP and Fayose.
On the inclusion of
the Inspector General of Police and the Chief of Army Staff in the
petition, the tribunal held that they are not necessary parties in the
petition as they are not included in the provisions of section 137(2)
and (3) of the Electoral Act where the classes of respondents in an
election petition are listed and held that election petition matters are
special proceedings which do not support the importation of persons not
covered in the laws and further maintained that no single reliefs was
claimed against the IGP or the COAS and thereafter struck their names
from the petition.
The tribunal also struck out a
greater chunk of the paragraphs of the petition on the ground that those
paragraphs where made up of imprecise statements like “officers and men
of the armed forces”, “agents of the PDP”, “harassment of the
supporters of the petitioners”, “arresting of key supporters and
chieftains of the petitioner” which had no names, descriptions or proper
identifications of those persons who the petitioners are referring.
The
panel held that those paragraphs are nebulous, speculative, not clear
and confusing, and pointed out that the petitioners failed to provide
the names of the polling units, where such harassment and intimidation
of their supporters took place.
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