Edo Election Tribunal reserves judgments on petitions against Obaseki

The Edo State Election Petition Tribunal adjudicating the governorship election that took place in September 2020 has reserved judgments on petitions filed by aggrieved political parties and their candidates against Governor Godwin Obaseki.

The reservation of judgments was sequel to the adoption of final written addresses by counsel to both petitioners and respondents on Wednesday in Benin City.

Thereafter, the Justice Yunusa Musa-led tribunal reserved judgments in all petitions, saying the date would be communicated to respective counsels.

Some aggrieved political parties, who were dissatisfied with the declaration of Obaseki as winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), had earlier petitioned the tribunal on many grounds.

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The aggrieved political parties are Action Democratic Party (ADP), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Allied Peoples Movement (APM) and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).

In their separate petitions, ADP, APM and the governorship candidate of NNPP, Tracy Agol, prayed the tribunal to nullify the declaration of Obaseki as winner of the election based on controversial degree result submitted alongside nomination and expression of interest forms to INEC by the governor for the purpose of the election, while AA and APP claimed they were unlawfully excluded from the poll.

However, the petition filed by the Action Alliance was dismissed for failing to file for issuance of pre-hearing, which is one of the conditions required by the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.

At the adoption of their separate written addresses, the petitioners’ counsel urged the court to accept their petitions and grant their request by nullifying the victory of Godwin Obaseki and his party.

The respondents argued that the various petitions lack merit and should be discountenanced.