Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki, today emerged victorious at the Court of Appeal in Benin City in his battle with Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Ize-Iyamu and his party had appealed against the Election Petition Tribunal Judgement on the September 26 gubernatorial election in Edo.
But the Court passed judgement today, upholding the declaration of Obaseki of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as Governor of Edo.
Counsels to both parties had argued their briefs on May 30, where Obaseki’s counsel, led by Wole Olanipekun, SAN, urged the Court to dismiss the Appeal. He said that the grounds of the appeal were watery.
Striking out the appeal, the Court, led by Hon. Justice Dongban-Mensen, ruled that the Justice Ahmed Badamasi-led Tribunal did a painstaking job in its judgement, and so deserved commendation, adding that the Tribunal should be commended for properly evaluating all the witnesses’ evidence and ascribing “probative value” to it.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared the APC’s candidate as the winner of the September 28, 2016 governorship election and the appellants had alleged that the Tribunal judges erred and truncated their right to a fair hearing by giving unequal treatment to the parties involved.
The Appeal Court, meanwhile, also held that the PDP, from the evidence-led, did not prove their case to warrant the nullification of the election or a declaration of Pastor Ize-Iyamu as the winner.
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