By Festus Ahon

ASABA—DELTA State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Asaba, has dismissed motions by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, challenging the subpoena for INEC to testify at the tribunal.

Okowa

The All Progressives Congress, APC, state governorship candidate in the April 11 election, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor, is challenging the declaration of Okowa of the PDP as the winner of the April poll.

Emerhor’s bid to call witnesses last week was stalled by three fresh applications by Okowa, PDP and INEC as the trial was to begin.

At the resumed hearing in the fresh motions on Thursday, counsel to the petitioner and the APC, Chief Thompson Okpoko, SAN, described counsel to the three respondents as “Meddlesome interlopers and rabble rousers,” whose applications were meant to cause confusion and stall the hearing of the petition.

He said that it was only INEC that could apply to set aside the subpoena, adding that in the instant petition, the provision of law was not applicable.

Okowa’s counsel, Dr Alex Izinyon, SAN, in moving the applications, however, urged the tribunal to set aside APC subpoena, earlier granted by the tribunal on INEC to appear at the tribunal.

Also, PDP’s counsel, Timothy Kehinde, SAN, aligned with Okowa’s counsel, arguing that the subpoena was an indirect way of asking the tribunal to sit on appeal over an earlier ruling refusing the petitioner’s application for further and better particulars.

He said that the documents of the petition were documents not pleaded or listed in the petition, urging the tribunal to dismiss request.

He noted that the subpoena “Is misleading and meant to overreach the PDP, which will have no opportunity to respond.”