By NewsBits
The Abia State Election Tribunal continued its hearing yesterday as Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) testified in the matter brought by Chief Okey Ahiwe, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate at the March 18, 2023, governorship election, challenging the declaration of Mr Alex Otti of the Labour Party (LP) as winner of the election.
Governor Otti might have suffered a major setback as INEC testified in the matter, Mr E. Ekeh, a lawyer who has been following the case opined. Witnesses took to the box to give testimonies at the resumed hearing. First was the witness from INEC headquarters, Abuja, Barr Hadizat Abubakar who told the court that she was at the tribunal on behalf of INEC Headquarters, Abuja as a subpoenaed witness, informing that she works in the Election Party and Monitoring Department of INEC, Abuja.
While testifying under oath, Barr Abubakar confirmed to the court that Abia State Labour Party on whose platform Mr Alex Otti contested the election did not submit its party membership register to INEC 30 days to its purported governorship primary election, as required by Law. While adopting her written deposition as her evidence, she tendered six other documents mentioned in Paragraph 4A-F as listed in her written deposition and a letter issued to her by INEC Headquarters, Abuja, authorising her to testify on its behalf.
Under cross-examination by Counsel to the Respondents, the INEC official told the court that documents from INEC relevant to the case must be authenticated by their records department and certified by the the national headquarters informing that she had no personal opinion whatsoever on the matter. She agreed that INEC has state offices nationwide, they remain under the control of the Headquarters.
A mild drama ensued when Petitioner’s Witness (PW 16) who was also subpoenaed from INEC tendered her official ID card as a staff in the Legal Drafting and Clearance Department of INEC, adopted her written deposition affirming that Abia State Labour Party did not conduct any governorship primary election. At that point, she was confronted by Counsel to the Respondents who showed her a letter and a payment receipt which she admitted signing. However, on a closer examination of the contentious document, it showed that it neither had a name, nor does it have a signature nor a date, that was apart from the fact that it emanated from Abia State office of INEC instead of its national headquarters.
Upon that, the letter contradicted the one PW 16 earlier tendered in evidence and adopted on oath, and which was certified by INEC Headquarters stating that INEC did not monitor any congress, convention or primary purported to have been held by Abia State Labour Party.
Even though the documents were tendered as exhibits, Petitioner’s lead counsel, Prof Paul Ananaba SAN, leading Elder Chibuike Nwokeukwu, Emeka Okpoko, Chief Henry Akunebu, Chief Sir Uche Ihedioha among other senior lawyers, vehemently opposed admitting the documents saying he would sate his reasons in his written address.
Meanwhile, a lawyer who has been following the matter, Barr E. Ekeh, opined that it was obvious that Mr Alex Otti and the Labour Party were doing everything possible to undermine the authority of INEC Headquarters by tendering unsigned and undated documents from the Abia State office of INEC instead of relying on certified true copies from their headquarters, suggesting that Mr Otti and Labour Party in Abia State have demonstrated sufficient desperation to conjure up invalid Party register and authenticate same using malleable INEC officials in their Abia State office.
He therefore urged the petitioners to remain vigilant as equity aids only the vigilant and not the indolent. The matter was adjourned to today, Friday, August 11.
