PDP agent congratulated me after poll, Obaseki’s witness tells tribunal

A polling agent for the All Progressives Congress, on Monday, told the Edo State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal that his counterpart in the Peoples Democratic Party “rejoiced” and “congratulated” him after the APC won the September 28 election in his polling unit.

This was against the allegations of non-accreditation of voters and over-voting by the petitioners’ witnesses.

The Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, are, in their substantive petitions, challenging the declaration of Godwin Obaseki as the winner of the poll by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

The petitioners had listed the INEC, APC and Obaseki as the first to third respondents, respectively.

Okononi Pius, a businessman, who was called in by counsel for the second respondent, Abiodun Owonikoko (SAN), explained, under cross-examination, that he had seen the PDP agent, identified as one Osaro, during the election in the Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area.

But when asked by the counsel for the electoral commission, Onyinye Anumonye, whether there were complaints during the election in his unit, Pius said, “Everybody went home rejoicing and the PDP polling agent, who is my boy, congratulated me.”

He noted that all the eight political party agents signed the result sheet for the unit, which was marked as exhibit PO133 (15), after the presiding officer counted the number of votes cast in their presence.

According to him, 265 voters were accredited, 260 votes were declared valid while five votes were rejected.

Other witnesses, who testified, including a job seeker, Ederaro Osahon, claimed that accreditation and voting were done simultaneously in their respective units and without complaints from the PDP agents.

Thirty-four witnesses, four of which appeared through a sobpoena, have so far testified since Obaseki opened his case on February 23, 2017.

Meanwhile, the tribunal has warned that it would not hesitate to charge lawyers with contempt for unprofessional conduct during the sitting at the tribunal.

The warning by the Chairman of the three-man panel, Justice Ahmed Badamasi, followed complaints by counsel for the petitioners over the alleged echoing and whispering of answers during the cross-examination of one of the witnesses of the second respondent, Edosa Iyayi.

Badamasi stated that it was wrong for members of the Bar to behave in a manner that gave a wrong impression to the public.

He added, “This is the last time there should be this kind of unprofessional conduct.”