By Simon Ebegbulem & Gabriel Enogholase

BENIN—Edo State Election Petitions Tribunal has rejected the move by the governorship candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, to amend certain paragraphs in the petition he filed before the court, contesting the result of the September 28, 2016 governorship election which Godwin Obaseki of All Progressives Congress, APC, was declared winner.

Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Ahmed Badamasi, during the proceedings of the tribunal on Tuesday, declared that the amendment could not be made by mere application .

The attempt to make the amendment followed the request by one of the witnesses of the PDP, Daudu Sunday, who said he wanted to correct what he described as a typographical error in the statement he earlier made on oath by changing the total number of votes cast from 650 to 652.

He made the plea while being cross-examined by counsel to Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Adegboyega Awomolor.

Consequently, counsel to the PDP, Roland Otaru (SAN), applied that his witness wanted to correct an error in paragraph four of his statement.

But Adegboyega kicked against the application, saying justice was not a one way traffic, contending that the amendment was fraudulent and an attempt to amend the main petition.

Counsel to Obaseki, Adetunji Oyeyipo, told the tribunal that the time for Pastor Ize-Iyamu to amend the petition had closed and that it would complicate the issues before the court.

Justice Badamasi ruled that the correction could not be made by mere words and that the witness had not given any reason why he wanted to make the amendment.

Meanwhile, the legal fireworks continued yesterday at the tribunal as the lead counsel to APC and Obaseki, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) and Wole Olanipekun (SAN) continued to drill the witnesses of the PDP.

One of the witnesses from Ikpoba Okhai Ward 1, Osaro Osuwne, who also was the agent of the PDP in Ward 1, was found to have registered twice in the voters register and entered two depositions, describing himself as a business man in one and as a public servant in another deposition.

When confronted with these facts in his depositions, Osaro, who earlier claimed he was also a man of God, said “I am also a nurse”.

More of the witnesses were being cross examined at the time of this report.