Nasarawa Governorship Tribunal: PDP witnesses appear in court

The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Mr. David Ombugadu, has expressed hope that the judiciary which is the last hope of the common man will ensure that votes count.

He spoke Wednesday made this known while addressing journalists in Lafia shortly after the election tribunal sitting.

Ombugadu said he was not just interested in recovering his mandate but want to see votes of electorates count.

“We want Nasarawa State to be an example where votes of electorates count”, he said.

Meanwhile, the Governorship Election Tribunal sitting in Nasarawa State has received four additional witnesses brought before it by PDP governorship candidate, Ombugadu, challenging the declaration of Governor Abdullahi Sule as winner of the 2023 election.

The PDP polling unit agent alleged while testifying that the entire result of the Ashige Ward was cancelled at the Lafia LGA Collation Centre where the collation centre officer refused to entered the result into the Form EC8C as required by law and excluded in the Form EC8D in the total computation of votes for the declaration of result.

The petitioner also called its polling unit agent for Alwazan Polling Unit Code 009 as witness number 9. The witness testified that elections were held in his unit where PDP won and results were uploaded on INEC’s result viewing portal but that they were not computed into the corresponding form EC8B for the Sabon Gari Ward of Doma Local Government Area.

The petitioner’s ward collation agent was also called as a witness in support of the case and he testified as the Petitioners’ witness number 10. In his testimony, he narrated to the tribunal that election results in the identified Polling Unit, Alwazan Mada Polling Unit Code 009 under his ward were not entered in the Form EC8B for the ward as mandated by law.

The petitioner also called its Ashige Ward collation agent as witness number 11, who in his testimony, narrated to the tribunal that elections were successfully held in 35 polling units in Ashige Ward where the petitioner alleged to have won.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) produced additional documents through its representative in pursuant to the subpoena issued by the tribunal and served on INEC upon the application of the petitioners at the resumed hearing.

The documents produced were certified true copies of Polling Units results (forms EC8As) and voters register of identified polling units, which were won by the petitioners. The documents were all admitted in evidence and accordingly marked as exhibits.