The Delta Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Asaba on Monday adjourned proceedings following the inability of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its gubernatorial candidate at last April elections, Chief O’tega Emerhor to furnish it with details of their witnesses.
Tribunal chairman, Justice Nasiru Gunmi had at the last sitting, slated Monday for commencement of substantive trial in the petition filed by the APC and the Labour Party challenging the victory of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.
The tribunal had subpoenaed seven witnesses to be called by counsels to the APC and O’tega to support their claims in the petition before the tribunal.
At the resumed hearing on Monday, Counsel to Okowa and the PDP, Dr. Alex Iziyon (SAN) raised a preliminary objection through motion-on-notice, challenging the locus standi of APC and O’tega to call the witnesses.
He argued that the petitioners cannot call seven witnesses without availing the respondents the opportunity of knowing the details of the witnesses.
Iziyon said: “We were ready to start the trial for this week in respect of the seven witnesses they listed; suddenly we were confronted with subpoena for four witnesses for Thursday.
“Before then, they had applied for leave to call additional witnesses which the tribunal refused, we have raised objection to the four new witnesses they are proposing to call.
“Even the witness statements have not been served on us, so the issue is whether the witness summons was appropriate in the circumstance that is what we have raised for consideration”.
Iziyon’s objection was also supported by Mr. AT Keyinde(SAN), Counsel to the INEC, the third respondent in the case.
The two counsels expressed their readiness to move the motion immediately, saying that “we are ready to go on with the substantive trial once the information we are seeking about witness summons are made available to us”.
Following Iziyon’s stance, counsel to the APC and O’tega, Mr. Samuel Okpokor (SAN) sought the leave of the tribunal for extension of time to enable him respond to the motions as filed by the respondents’ counsels.
Chairman of the three-man tribunal, Justice Gunmi, after listening to the arguments of the counsels, adjourned to August 20, 2015 for hearing on the motion.
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