News - Tribunal upholds Oshiomhole’s election

[TGD]

 AFTER months of legal crossfire, the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal Wednesday dismissed the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governorship candidate, Maj.-Gen. Charles Airhiavbere, challenging Governor Adams Oshiomhole's victory in the July 14, 2012 polls.

Airhiavbere had alleged fraud in the election and asked the tribunal to void Oshiomhole's victory.

The tribunal's chairman, Justice Muazu Pindiga, described the petition as lacking in merit, accordingly, "the relief for prayers in Paragraph 30 (1) of the petition fails and we so pronounce. The petitioner cried to high heaven in vain, there was no infraction of the Electoral Act to warrant declaring the petitioner the winner. Judges cannot perform miracles in handling this, the petition completely lack evidence and these cases are determined on the strength of evidence it presents, this petition is therefore bereft and devoid of any substance and merit both outwardly and legally and ought to be dismissed and is hereby dismissed. It was not proved to have affected the election result."

Paraphrasing Justice Udo Udoma (JSC), Pindiga said: "If there was ever a petition completely bereft of evidence, this is certainly one."

He also awarded a cost of N150,000 against the petitioner.

Pindiga said the petitioner could not prove any of his allegations of intimidation of voters on election day, multiple voting, alteration and mutilation of voters register and improper filing of Form EC8A.

Reacting to the verdict, Oshiomhole said: "I can only say we give thanks to God for having a panel made up of men of integrity. The last thing I want to say is to remind Charles that we are friends and we are brothers. In a multi-party democracy, a number of people are expected to contest and when more than one person contests an election, no matter what happens, only one person will win, he has to try to come to terms with this reality that there is no way for two people to win, Edo people have spoken loud and clear, he didn't have to go the way he has gone but now it is all over. I ask him (Airhiavbere) to join us as an Edo person so that together we can take Edo to the next level."



The Guardian