BY DAPO AKINREFON

SENATORIAL candidate for Anambra Central, who contested on the platform of  All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, Prof Dora Akunyili, has vowed to contest the verdict of the election tribunal which knocked out her case on technical grounds.

She, however, pledged to seek redress at the Court of Appeal, even as she faulted the ruling of the election tribunal.

In a statement entitled: “It is not over until it is over”, Akunyili said “the petition I filed challenging  declaration of Dr. Chris Ngige of Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, as winner of the April 2011 senatorial election for Anambra Central was thrown out on technical ground by the election tribunal sitting in Awka, the Anambra State capital.”

The former Minister of Information and Communications alleged that the tribunal based its decision on last week’s Supreme Court ruling that any case not decided within 180 days of the filing of the petition had lapsed.

According to her, “aware that the election was rigged in his favour, Ngige did everything humanly possible to ensure that my petition would not be heard. “His legal team employed delay tactics, using one crafty argument after another to frustrate the hearing of my case,” she said

“Five times we went on appeal and five times we won, sometimes with fines against Dr. Ngige.”
In her argument, the former director-general of NAFDAC stated that “hearing into my case finally started following the Appeal Court’s order that my petition must be heard on merit and not thrown out on technical grounds against the spirit of the 2010 Electoral Act.

“My witnesses and I had finished our submissions and Dr. Ngige was to start his defense today.  He must be relieved that the Supreme Court ruling on 180 days came to his rescue because he is aware that he did not win the election.
“If he won the election, why was he desperate to ensure that my petition should not be heard?”

Expressing dissatisfaction with the judgement of the tribunal, Akunyili stated her resolve to proceed to the Court of Appeal to challenge the verdict.

Her words: “I have reviewed the striking out of my case with my legal team and we took a decision to file an appeal against the ruling of the tribunal at the court of appeal.

“This issue had been raised and determined by the tribunal and court of appeal which is the final court with respect to this matter.

“There was no appeal to Supreme Court by my opponent and the very judgment relied on by the tribunal is clear that a subsisting decision of the court is binding on all the parties.”

“In effect, the decision of the court of appeal on the issue is final and binding and cannot be revisited under any guise. We still believe very strongly that in the end, God of justice will give us justice.”