By Austin Ogwuda
Asaba—AN Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, official in Delta State, Mr. Ayaogbo Tobi, who was sacked after testifying before an election petitions tribunal, has appealed to the commission’s headquarters in Abuja to respect a court order which ordered his reinstatement.

Vanguard gathered that Tobi was an Electoral Officer in Oshimili North Local Government Area of the state. During the 2003 general elections, he was deployed to Isoko South Constituency II as an Assistant Supervisory Presiding Officer for the repeat state House of Assembly election.

The said repeat election results were challenged at the election petitions tribunal in Asaba, where he testified after he was subpoenaed.

It was gathered that shortly after he testified before the tribunal, the then Resident Electoral Commissioner fired him on September 10, 2003, claiming “no staff should testify before the Tribunal unless he or she obtains his permissions.”

Not satisfied with the sack, Tobi headed to the Federal High Court, Asaba, where his dismissal from service was upturned. The court ordered INEC “to pay the plaintiff all his salaries, leave grants and other allowances that he should have earned during the period of the purported dismissal.”

Trial judge, Justice I. Buba, in his judgment on August 5, 2010, said: “I am of the opinion that the case of the plaintiff has merit and the defendants have no defence to this action whatsoever having elected not to lead evidence in support of their averments and equally having failed to contradict the evidence of the plaintiff.”

Meanwhile, following the non-compliance with the court order by INEC, Tobi’s counsel, wrote to the Executive Secretary of INEC, saying: “I am appealing to you to use your good offices to implement the judgment of the court.

“It has been seven months since the judgment was delivered and the court would not be pleased to know that the Commission had delayed in carrying out its orders for this length of time.”