By Austin Ogwuda
The National Assembly and State Election Petitions Tribunal led by Justice Catherine Ogunsola, today, Saturday, gave the Member representing Warri Federal Constituency in the Federal House of Representatives, Rt Hon Thomas Ereyitomi, a clean bill of health, by affirming him the winner of the seat.
Ekpoto Ekpoto Emmanuel of the All Progressive Congress APC, had filed a petition against Areyitomi of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP seeking to upturn Ereyitomi’s victory on the ground that he wasn’t qualified to contest the election.
Ekpoto Ekpoto among other electoral breaches claimed that Ereyitomi forged his Secondary school certificate.
Delivering judgment the Tribunal dismissed the entire petition for lack of merit.
The Tribunal ruled that the petitioner failed to prove his case beyond reasonable doubt and awarded the sum of N500,000 as cost against him.
The Tribunal ruled that the evidence brought before it by the petitioner, according to them were not admissible in the eye of the Law.
“The Petitioners failed to call evidence unit by unit and ward by ward to establish malpractice in the election.
“The Petitioner in his pleadings did not demonstrate the discrepancy between the number of accredited voters, the lawful votes cast and how it affected the outcome of the election. Attempt to do this in his Written Address was of no moment.
“The alleged forgery of the 3rd Respondent’s (Ereyitomi) NECO was not established as there was disclaimer from the issuing Authority. Besides, no mean could be inferred”, the Tribunal ruled.
Oghenero Okoro, counsel to petitioner, had in his final written address pointed out that Ereyitomi’s election was fraught with irregularities including the alleged certificate forgery.
He adumbrated that “what Section 6611 of the 1999 Constitution as Amended seeks to penalize is integrity, and that if the 3rd respondent must sit in the National Assembly to make laws, he must be like Caesar’s wife and be above board”.
Okoro argued that the petition did not plead that an election did not take place, but instead pleaded that an election known to law did not take place in Warri South LGA.
He urged the tribunal to “discountenance all the preliminary objections and hold that the 3rd respondents was not qualified for infracting against Section 6611(I) of the 1999 Constitution and declare the petitioner winner”, Okoro submitted.
But Ekeme Ohwovoriole (SAN), counsel to the 3rd respondent (Ereyitomi) urged the Tribunal to dismiss the petition for lack of merit.
