The Court of Appeal sitting in Owerri Monday, reserved
judgment for a yet-to-be announced date on the suit filed by Senator Orji Uzor
Kalu against Senator Mao Ohuabunwa, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party,
PDP in the February 23rd senatorial poll in Abia North.
Both parties will be communicated on the date for judgement
which according to the new electoral guidelines must be delivered on or before
November 8.
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Justice Cornelius Akintayo -led Election Petitions Tribunal
had invalidated Kalu’s election on the grounds of non-compliance with the
principles of margin of lead.
The three -man panel had also ordered the Independent
National Electoral Commission, INEC to conduct a supplementary election between
Kalu and Ohuabunwa in eighth out of the 11 electoral wards in Arochukwu where
results of the February 23rd election were not collated.
The supplementary election is also to be held in some other
wards and several polling units mostly in PDP strongholds.
But dissatisfied with the tribunal’s judgement, Kalu headed
for the Appeal court to challenge the verdict of the panel.
Wawa News reported that, When hearing began on the petition by Kalu at the appellant court Monday, his lead counsel, Lateef Fagbemi adopted his written brief and prayed the court to set aside the judgement of the lower tribunal.
Senator Ohuabunwa’s lead counsel, Chika Den-Wigwe SAN, while addressing the court, adopted and
relied on his written briefs filed on 15th October.
He urged the court to dismiss the petition and uphold the
judgement of the lower tribunal.
Meanwhile the court has dismissed the petition filed by INEC
following a notice of withdrawal later filed by the electoral umpire.
No lawyer appeared for INEC at the court, hence the court
threw away the petition.
The court queried the
reasonability of Kalu’s party, the All Progressive Congress, APC to file a
separate petition when its candidate had already filed his own.
According to the court, it amounts to unnecessary
duplication and abuse of court processes for APC and its candidate to file
separate petitions.
At the heat of the argument , counsel to APC, Obiora Obianwu agreed to step down the
party’s petition ,and subsequently, adopted Kalu’s written briefs which according to his lawyer
has 32 grounds of objection.
Responding to the consolidation of Kalu and APC’s briefs,
Ohuabunwa’s lead counsel, Den-Wigwe still urged the court to dismiss the
petition.
Source: Wawa News