Ebonyi: Tribunal rejects joint inspection of electoral materials

The governorship election petition tribunal sitting in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State yesterday ordered separate inspection of electoral materials by governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Dave Umahi and his Labour Party opponent, Chief Edward Nkwegu.

This followed the opposition of joint inspection of the materials by counsel to Chief Nkwegu, Chuma Ajaegbu as prayed by the counsel to Chief Dave Umahi, Roy Umahi who requested for the joint inspection of the electoral materials by the two parties.

Ajaegbu who said that he was not opposed to the motion brought before the tribunal by Roy Umahi for the inspection of the materials as it is his right to do so, contended that allowing both parties to inspect the materials jointly will make the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) frustrate the exercise.

‘’If there is an order for joint inspection, once it is made, the INEC through which that order is directed to can frustrate us once one of the parties are not present and any party can make the matter worse by not showing up but if there are separate orders made, INEC administratively can harmonize things and give us a date to come for the inspection so that if one party does not come or any of the parties are not present the inspection can go on’’, he said.

Umahi said that all he wanted is for the granting of his prayer to inspect the electoral materials as done to his counterpart, Ajaegbu even though the tribunal did not make it jointly as he requested.

Earlier in her ruling, chairman of the tribunal Justice Theresa Ikoje ordered INEC to conduct separate inspection of the materials used in the governorship election.

Justice Ikoje urged INEC to harmonize things to ensure success of the exercise and reminded the two parties to be time conscious, adding that forty one days (41) has already been spent on the petition remaining only 139 days for the tribunal to conclude sitting on the petition.