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| APC governorship candidate, Dakuku Peterside |
The Rivers State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja on Thursday reaffirmed its ex parte
order made on June 11, 2015, granting permission to the All
Progressives Congress and its candidate in the April 11, 2015
governorship election in the state, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, to inspect the
electoral materials used for the poll.
Peterside and the APC had on May 3,
2015, filed their petition before the tribunal to challenge the victory
of the Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate, Nyemson Wike, in the
poll.
The Justice Mu’azu Pindiga-led tribunal,
in a ruling on Thursday, dismissed Wike’s application asking for the
setting aside of the June 11, 2015 order.
Wike had argued that the tribunal’s
order was wrongly made and asked that the tribunal could alternatively
allow its agent to participate in the inspection to be undertaken by the
petitioners.
He also asked the tribunal to vary the
order in such a manner that the petitioners would not be allowed to make
copies of some of the materials.
The PDP supported Wike’s application,
while the Independent National Electoral Commission said it would await
the outcome of the application to decide whether or not to obey the
order for inspection.
Ruling on Thursday, Justice Pindiga rejected Wike’s application on the grounds that it lacked merit.
The judge noted that the order made on
June 11 was in accordance with the provision of Section 151 of the
Electoral Act and was directed at INEC, and not Wike.
The judge ruled, “There is the need for
us to clarify the order we made on June 11. The order was made against
INEC to allow the petitioners access, inspect and obtain the certified
true copies of election materials in respect of the governorship
election in the state.
“The order was made in accordance with the provision of Section 151 of the Electoral Act. The order still stands.”
He adjourned till July 22 for the commencement of the pre-hearing session in the petition.
During the hearing of Wike’s application
on July 6, 2015, Peterside and the APC had accused the Independent
National Electoral Commission of frustrating their bid to inspect the
electoral materials used for the poll.
The petitioners’ lawyer, Akin Olujinmi
(SAN) told the tribunal that INEC had continued to refuse his clients’
agents to inspect the election materials, a development which he
described as a manifestation of an alliance between INEC, Wike and the
PDP to frustrate the hearing of the petition.
But INEC, Wike and PDP, while justifying
the refusal of INEC to allow the petitioners to inspect the electoral
materials, argued that it would have been wrong for the electoral umpire
to allow the inspection when Wike’s applications challenging the
tribunal’s jurisdiction and the propriety of the June 11 order, were
pending.
Olujinmi, in a counter-argument to
Wike’s application, urged the tribunal to, among others, urged the
tribunal to dismiss the application on the grounds that the order
allowing the inspection of the electoral materials was not directed at
him (Wike), but at INEC.
He said, “We have shown that INEC has
not objected to the tribunal’s order and today, they have confessed
before the tribunal that they disobeyed the order for inspection because
the 2nd respondent (Wike) filed a motion seeking the setting aside of
the order.
“Even the order for inspection was
obtained and directed at INEC, but INEC has not formally complained to
the tribunal with regard to that order. But they chose, on their own, to
decide not to obey the order. This again shows the Shenanigan
underlying this application to set aside the order for inspection.
“It is designed to legalise the
conspiracy between the 1st and 2nd respondents (INEC and Wike) to
frustrate the tribunal’s order. The law is that if the court is told
that the order it made is being disparaged, dishonoured, disobeyed and
disrespected, the court has a duty to take firm and decisive steps to
ensure the order is obeyed.”
He also said Wike’s opposition to the
tribunal’s order was fraught with contradiction as he (Wike), in one
breath, argued that the order for the inspection poses threat to
national security, he on the other hand, urged the tribunal to allow his
agents participate in the inspection.
Olujinmi urged the tribunal to disregard
Wike’s prayers on the ground that it acted within its powers under
Section 151 of the Electoral Act, which empowered it to order INEC to
allow any party to election petition to inspect materials used during
the election being challenged.
Source: Punchng
