Tribunal orders hearing of APGA’s suit in Enugu East Senatorial election

THE Enugu State National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal has upheld an application by the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the Enugu East Senatorial election, Nwabueze Okafor, for issuance of pre-trial proceedings in his case against Senator Gilbert Nnaji of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Ruling on the application yesterday, Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Mike Edem, said it was not only “timely but also brought in accordance with the law.”

He, therefore, ordered that the pre-trial proceedings, which should be handled by a new tribunal set up to decongest Enugu election petitions, commence without further delay.

Okafor, who is challenging the declaration of Nnaji as the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), had through his counsel, George C. Igbokwe, applied for the pre-trial proceedings.

When the matter came up for hearing on June 24, Nnaji’s counsel, Patrick Ikwueto (SAN), had vigorously opposed the application on the ground that it was filed out of time, asking the court to dismiss the motion and entire petition.

But Igbokwe had on the other hand urged the court to uphold the pre-trial application, saying it was timely since it was served on June after the court had permitted Nnaji’s lawyers to amend their process, which was erroneously filed by them.

Ruling on the application, Justice Edem wholeheartedly agreed with the petitioner’s counsel that the motion was filed on time and ordered that the pre-trial proceedings commenced immediately while awarding N20,000 against Nnaji.

He said: “And since we still have many cases pending before us, which we are not sure we will conclude before October, I hereby transfer that matter to the new tribunal which we have constituted to decongest Enugu State election petitions.”

Okafor had approached the tribunal complaining that the Enugu East Senatorial election, which produced Nnaji, was marred with so much irregularities, adding that the purported election and declaration of Nnaji as the winner cannot be sustained in law and should be set aside for a re-run election to be held.