By Miracle Ogunde
Following a row on presentation of documents, the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal on Wednesday adjourned hearing on Asue Ighodalo and the Peoples Democratic Party’s petitions to Friday, January 17, 2025.
This is to enable parties in the suit to have a pre-hearing meeting with the court registry on the way to go about presentation of documents by the petitioners.
According to the DAILY POST, the Justice Wilfred Kpochi- led three-man adjourned hearing of the petition on Friday, January 17, 2025.
Justice Kpochi slated Thursday, January 16, 2025 for the parties in the petition to have a pre-hearing meeting with the court registry.
The adjournment of the petitions followed the motion by Adetunji Oyeyipo, SAN, petitioners’ lead counsel, that his clients were ready to tender carefully arranged documents used in the conduct of the election.
Oyeyipo represented by Ken Mozia told the court that the documents set to tender from the bar were arranged in a way to make the entire process seamless for parties before the court.
However, counsel to Governor Monday Okpebholo, APC and INEC, Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, Emmanuel Ukala SAN, and Kanu Agabi, SAN, respectively, opposed the motion of the petitioners’ counsel.
The trio averred that the documents should have be filed before the court before same can be admitted as exhibits.
However, speaking with journalists shortly after the adjournment, Ighodalo, candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, expressed confidence in the judiciary of reclaiming his mandate.
Ighodalo also commended the people of the state for their overwhelming votes during the governorship election.
“I want to use this opportunity to commend the people of Edo State for coming out en masse to vote for us on September 21, 2024 and for keeping faith with us.
“They have been very calm in the face of intimidation, harassment in the last three months in the state.
“We strongly believe that the judiciary will do the right thing and we are looking forward to the outcome of the Tribunal proceedings”, he stated.
Seven petitions challenging the declaration of Governor Monday Okpebholo as winner of the 2024 Edo State Governorship Election were filed before the tribunal.
The petitioners are Asue Ighodalo, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Accord Party, AP, Allied Peoples Movement, APM, Action Democratic Party, ADP, Zenith Labour Party, ZLP, and the Social Democratic Party, SDP.
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