Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senator, Athan Achonu, has condemned what he called the unceremonious disbandment of the
National and State Houses of Assembly Election Tribunal for Imo State, which had Justice Geraldine Ono Imadegbelo as chairman.
The politician had represented Imo North in the Senate from June, 2015 until the election was nullified and re-conducted, bringing in Senator Ben Uwajumogu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
But at a press conference in Abuja, Achonu announced that he had petitioned the Appeal Court President, Zainab Bulkachuwa, because of what he called the suspicious disbandment.
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Achonu, in the petition which he sent to Bulkachuwa through his lawyer, K.C.O. Njemanze, drew attention to the fact that timeliness was of essence in the case just as he pointed out that intelligence report available to him suggested that his opponents might take undue advantage of the disbandment.
Achonu had dragged INEC, the APC and Uwajumogu to the tribunal in Owerri, the Imo State Capital.
Achonu’s petition reads in part: “While the pre-trial session was still going on, our client continued to receive information and reports of clandestine and or subterranean moves by his opponents and their supporters to truncate and or frustrate the hearing and determination of this petition, and the grand design including to disband the panel, inordinately delay the setting up of a fresh panel and where a fresh panel, it shall be at such a time that the petitioner would be stampeded and prevented from calling necessary witnesses to establish his case.
“We were all surprised when on 10th October 2016, the Secretary to the panel orally announced in court that the panel has been disbanded by your lordship.
“Out client is worried and saddened by this development in view of information and intelligence reports available to him on the grand design of his opponents and recent developments which include the non- setting up of a panel to hear and determine his petition many days after the first panel was disbanded.”
“Election petitions are time- sensitive and must be heard and determined within the period stipulated by law. Therefore, the delay in setting up a new panel is adversely affecting the interest of our client and cannot be said to be in the interest of justice.”
