Delta Guber Tribunal: Finally, Gov. Okowa, Ogboru Know Fate Friday

The Delta State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Asaba will on Friday, September 20, deliver its verdict in the petition challenging the reelection of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.

The petition was filed by the candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Chief Great Ogboru in the March 9, 2019 governorship election.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Okowa winner of that elecion but APC and its candidate,Ogboru, dissatisfied with the outcome of the election approached the tribunal to challenge the result.

The petition against the PDP and its candidate, Okowa is marked EPT/DT/GOV/01/2019.

The petitioners are alleging that the election was fraught with irregularities, over voting and substantial non-compliance to the Electoral Act and guidelines for the said election.

The APC and Ogboru therefore prayed the court to nullify the election and order INEC to conduct a fresh exercise, or in the alternative, declare him winner on the ground that he scored majority of lawful votes cast at the poll.

Chairman of the three-man tribunal, Justice Sulaiman Belgore had earlier adjourned the matter for judgment after counsels to the respective parties had adopted their final written.

In their final written addresses, counsels to the first respondent (Gov. Okowa), D.D. Dodo; second respondent (PDP), A.T. Kehinde; and third respondent (INEC), John Olusola urged the tribunal to dismissed the petition for lacking in merit, incompetent, adding that the petition suffered a shipwreck.

But petitioners’ counsel, Nichols Icheko urged the tribunal to grant the prayers, insisting the allegations of rigging and over voting were proved beyond reasonable doubt.