Rivers polls: PDP witnesses testify, tender result sheets

PDP witnesses, who testified at the Rivers National Assembly and State Legislative Election Tribunal in Abuja, on Tuesday said that there were elections in Port Harcourt 1 Federal Constituency on March 28.

They made the submission when they testified for the defence in continuation of the hearing at the tribunal.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Mr Igochukwu Aguma of the APC, who contested for the House of Representatives in the constituency, had filed a petition against the winner, Ken Chikere, of the PDP.

In the petition, Aguma alleged that there was no election in the constituency.

The witnesses – Confidence Digbani ,Godfrey Ogbonda Nwornu and Bestman Nyala, in their testimonies at the resumed hearing of the petition, said that they served as PDP agents in the election.

Digbani, who said she was the PDP agent in Ward 20, Unit 53, tendered the result sheet from her ward as evidence.

She told the tribunal that INEC provided all the electoral materials in her unit.

Digbani added that there was accreditation and voting, and that the results were announced at the polling unit at the end of the exercise.

She said that there was no gun shot and that no party agents or military personnel chased away any voter from the ward.
“It was a very peaceful election,” she said.

Another witness, Godfrey Ogbonda Nwornu, also a party agent for Ohiamaka Ward 2, also said that there was election in the area.

He said that people queued up, got accredited and voted peacefully, after which the result was announced by the presiding officer at the unit.

“The presiding officer thereafter took the result to the collation centre,” he said.

Ogbonda alleged that Aguma came to vote at that polling unit on election day, along with his supporters “who shared money to the people”.

NAN reports that all the witnesses were led in evidence by the defence counsel, Mr Austin Uwa.

All evidences and exhibits, which included result sheets, party identity cards and permanent voters card tendered by the witnesses to the tribunal were all admitted by the court.

Counsel to the petitioner, Mr B. E. Nwofor’s objection to the result sheet tendered as evidence, after stating that they were not mentioned in the deposition of the witness before the tribunal, did not stop their admission.

The Chairman of the tribunal, Justice A.M Pindiga, adjourned the case till Sept. 25 and Sept. 26 for continuation of hearing.