By GABRIEL ENOGHOLASE

The campaign ahead of the Edo State governorship election in 2015 was laced with much drama and intrigues climaxing with the last minute postponement of the election from the earlier scheduled date of September 10.

Given the spectacle that shadowed the election campaign, only few would have expected the post-election struggle to be less dramatic. Indeed, actions and inactions of the contenders have been no less dramatic as reflected in recent tribunal outings where the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu is seeking to reverse the declaration of Mr. Godwin Obaseki as governor of Edo State.

The sitting of the Justice Ahmed Badamasi led Governorship Election Tribunal sitting in Benin last Wednesday was, however, laced with comedy and acrimony.

Osaro Osuwne, from Ikpoba Okhai Ward 1, called to testify for the PDP candidate was put under pressure when the APC counsel alleged that he made depositions describing himself as a business man and also as a public servant in another deposition.

Faced with the seeming contradictions, Osuwne who had earlier described himself as a “Man of God,” threw the court into laughter when he added “I am also a nurse!”

However, the high point of the drama acts on Wednesday was when two senior   members of the bar, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) and Mr. Kemi Pinheiro ( SAN) engaged themselves in a shouting match following the order on a witness, Mr. Frank Pax Osifo to shut up by Chief Olanipekun during a cross examination.

Trouble started when Mr. Osifo who is a witness for the PDP tried to explain the literary meaning of a question put to him by Chief Olanipekun.

Ize-Iyamu

Olanipekun who was visibly angered by the audacity of the witness ordered him to shut up saying, “this is insulting, you are insulting me.”

He was to add that he had expected counsel to the petitioners to caution their witness when he made the statement.

It was at this juncture that lead counsel for the petitioners during the session, Mr. Kemi Pinheiro replied in anger.

“I have been very patient with counsel shouting down and intimidating my witnesses. He has no right to abuse a witness. He is not your house boy that you can abuse and order to shut up.”

Also, speaking in the same vein, Mr. Emmanuel Ukala (SAN) another counsel for the petitioners, said that certain standard must be maintained in the tribunal, adding, “a witness is not a house boy, we must resist the temptation to see a witness as a lesser person.”

However, counsel to INEC, Mr. Adegboyega Aromolowo when called upon by the tribunal chairman, Justice Ahmed Badamasi to comment on the quarrel between the two senior counsel, thanked the tribunal for its patience.

He said, “Chief Olanipekun and Mr. Pinheiro need to accommodate each other. There are many cases they would do together or against each other. I appeal to Chief Olanipekun who is a SAN, former President of the NBA, etc. to see Pinheiro as a junior brother. I thank the tribunal for it’s patience.”

The intrigues continued to the following day when the petitioners brought some witnesses including a professor of Constitutional Law to support their case.

The professor was, however, not let off lightly as he was subjected to serious questioning by the legal team of the defendants.

Prof. Edoba Omoregie was among the eight witnesses who appeared for the petitioners from Egor and Orhionwon local government areas of the state.

Prof. Omoregie who under cross examination from counsel to the respondents told the tribunal that he could not say if he were accredited to vote in the election unless he sees the INEC voters register , saying that his complaints as contained in his deposition were inappropriate accreditation and over-voting.

Asked then what was the basis of his claim of over voting he said that the number of used and unused ballot papers in Unit 010 where he voted did not tally.

According to him whereas 335 was recorded for accredited voters but that the result sheet showed that 340 voted.

“My unit is clustered with other units, so this afforded me the opportunity to move around and as a ward collation officer polling agents in other units submitted their various results to me.”

Hon Tony Osazuwa who was collation agent of the PDP for Evbueghae Ward in Orhionwon local government area admitted that he did not vote in the elections though he is a registered voter in Unit 4.

( He told the tribunal that there were no elections in 4 out of the 21 polling units and blamed this on the malpractices that he claimed characterised the process in the listed polling units in the ward.

Asked how he came to the conclusion,   he said based on complaints he received from the polling agents scattered all over the ward, he undertook the task of going round and confirmed their assertions to be true.

Other witnesses like Messrs Osamede Edebiri in his deposition before the tribunal said, “ I observed that there was total absence of accreditation”, in the 28 polling units in his Ward in Egor local government of the state.

The tribunal sitting meanwhile continues.