By Johnbosco Agbakwuru
CALABAR— SOME of the aggrieved candidates in the 2011 April National and State House of Assembly elections in Cross River State, whose cases are still pending at the election petitions tribunal, have appealed to the Chief Registrar of Court of Appeal for his intervention in ensuring that their petitions were given adequate attention before the expiration of the life of the tribunal.

Three of the candidates, Mr Joseph Etene, who contested the state House of Assembly election for Bakassi state constituency on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Mr Mkpanam Obo, of ACN for Biase constituency and Mr. Fabian Okpa of Peoples Democratic Party for Obubra 1 state constituency, want their cases attended to before the winding up of the tribunal.

The election petitions tribunal sitting in Calabar and led by Justice Mohammed Nabarun, had dismissed their petitions at the pre-trial stage but the Appeal Court upturned the judgment and ordered the tribunal to retry the cases on their merit.

The aggrieved candidates claimed that the orders for the retrial of their cases were served on the tribunal and that hearing notices were issued to them on October 6, 2011, adding that they were surprised that on the said date, the tribunal chairman, told them that a new panel to try their matters was to be constituted by the President of Court of Appeal.

“On October 6, 2011, we were informed in open court by the chairman that a new panel had been constituted by the President of the Court of Appeal to hear our cases. It is regrettable that till date, barely 30 days to the expiration of the life of the tribunal, our cases are still pending before the tribunal and no panel had been reconstituted to determine these cases.

“We are faced with no other option than to appeal to you sir, to look into this matter with a view to ensuring that we are given fair hearing on our cases, as justice delayed particularly as the constitution provides a time frame (180 days) for the determination of our petitions,” the candidates said.