By Emmanuel Amaize & Bulou Kosin

ASABA-THE Delta State Governorship election petition tribunal sitting in Asaba, has struck out two applications urging it to dismiss the petition of Chief Great Ogboru and the Democratic People’s Party, DPP, challenging the return of Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan in the April 26 governorship poll.

The tribunal held that the petition was not an abuse of court process as argued  by Uduaghan and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

On the argument by Uduaghan  and PDP, that the filing of the petition by the Ogboru and DPP at the April 26 governorship tribunal, when a similar petition was filed at the re-run tribunal,  had not been decided, was an abuse of court process, the tribunal held that the petitioners acted within the rights allowed them by the constitution  and Electoral Act to file the petition.

It said the two petitions arose from two distinct actions and not the same cause of action as the respondents would want the tribunal to believe.

The  tribunal said that request by Uduaghan for the tribunal  to strike out paragraphs 24, 26 and 28 of the petition, in which the petitioners accused the PDP, some of its members and security agents of rigging the election in his (Uduaghan) favour was a matter for evidence during  trial.