Peoples Democratic Party

ABUJA-The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its governorship candidate in Kogi State, Musa Wada, on Monday, said they would call a total of 259 witnesses to prove the petition they filed to nullify the re-election of governor Yahaya Bello.

The Petitioners made the disclosure on a day the Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja resumed pre-hearing session on the petition marked EPT/KG/GOV/06/2019.

A three-man panel of justices headed by Justice Kashim G. Kaigama, heard and reserved ruling on preliminary motions that were brought by all the parties.

PDP and its candidate, in a motion they filed through their lawyer, Mr. Jubril Okutekpa, SAN, dated January 24, urged the tribunal to strike out some paragraphs in the Respondents’ reply to the petition for being incompetent.

They contended that the said paragraphs were incurably defective on the ground that they contained pre-election issues that are outside the jurisdiction of the tribunal.

Relying on section 285(8) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, the petitioners argued that the tribunal was statutorily enjoined to reserve its rulings on all the applications till its final judgement.

However, the Petitioners withdrew an application the filed for leave to call forensic experts and statisticians as witnesses in the matter and it was accordingly struck out .

On their part, the Respondents, through their respective lawyers, J.B.Daudu, SAN, Ahmed Raji, SAN, and Dr. Alex Iziyon, SAN, in separate counter-affidavits, urged the tribunal to dismiss the petitioners’ application.

The Respondents further argued that since the application challenged some paragraphs of their reply, it was therefore not caught by section 285(8) of the Constitution.

Likewise, the Respondents moved separate motions they also filed for some portions of the petition to be struck out.

Meanwhile, after the Justice Kaigama-led panel heard all the parties, it reserved ruling on the motions to a date it said would be communicated to all the parties.

The tribunal Chairman said the panel would be guided by the provision of section 285 of the Constitution in determining all the applications that were filed within the pre-hearing session.

The panel also extended the pre-hearing session till Thursday.

Earlier in the proceeding, INEC’s lawyer, Iziyon, SAN, said the Commission intends to also call a total of 271 witnesses in the matter, while governor Bello’s lawyer, Daudu, SAN, said his client would produce 120 witnesses.

Similarly, the APC said it would call a total of250 witnesses.

Each of the Respondents prayed the tribunal to grant them 10 days each to present their evidence through the witnesses.

After the tribunal queried INEC on why it listed more witnesses than the petitioners, the electoral body subsequently pruned down the number to 200.

The panel ruled that whereas it would grant the Petitioners 10 days each to call their witnesses, the Respondents, would be entitled to six days each.

PDP and its candidate had in their petition, prayed the tribunal to declare that governor Bello of the All Progressive Congress, APC, was not the valid winner of the Kogi state gubernatorial contest.

Cited as Respondents in the petition are the Independent National Electoral Commission,  INEC, governor Bello and the APC.

It will be recalled that INEC had on November 18, declared Yahaya Bello of the APC as winner of the governorship election.

The Returning Officer, Ibrahim Garba, who is the Vice-Chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University, ABU, declared that Bello polled the highest number of votes in the election with 406,222 to defeat Wada of the PDP who scored 189,704 in the election.

As collated by INEC, Bello defeated Wada with a total of 216,518, while Natasha Akpoti of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) came a distant third in the election with 9482 votes.

However, Wada of the PDP, insisted that the election was rigged in favour of the APC and its candidate.

Aside contending that he won the election, Wada, alleged that the exercise was marred by widespread electoral malpractices and violence, adding that there was substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act.

The petitioners are among other things, seeking a declaration that the 2nd Respondent, governor Bello, did not secure majority of lawful votes cast at the election.

They are praying the tribunal to issue an order nullifying the Certificate of Return the INEC issued to governor Bello and declare that Wada scored majority of votes cast at the election and fulfilled that having fulfilled requirements of section 179(2)(a) and (b) of the Constitution.

Alternatively, the Petitioners are praying for an order directing INEC to conduct supplementary election in  polling units where elections were cancelled, noting that the margin of lead between the 2nd Respondent and the 1st Petitioner, being Iess than the registered voters in the cancelled polling units.

They further sought for a declaration that the Kogi governorship election that held on November 16, 2019, and the subsequent declaration and return of the 2nd Respondent, are voided by corrupt practices in breach of the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2010 (As amended), which substantially affected the results of the election.