By Kolawole Ojebisi
Four days after the adjudication at Edo Governorship Election Tribunal was stalled due to the failure of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to provide its witnesses as earlier agreed, hearing resumed on Monday.
This is as Gov. Monday Okpebholo of Edo State, in Abuja, opened and closed his case at the Tribunal calling only one witness.
At the resumed hearing, Mr Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, lead counsel to Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), told the tribunal that the business of the day was for his client to open his case.
Ikpeazu prayed that Justice Wilfred Kpochi-led’s three-member tribunal to allow him to call his only witness.
The witness, Mr Usman Majek told the tribunal that he was a polling unit agent of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) during the Sept. 21, 2024, governorship election in Edo State.
Under cross-examination, ÿ⅞the witness agreed that there was overvoting in his polling unit.
He also affirmed that in his unit, accreditation and voting took place simultaneously.
Majek told the tribunal that he complained to the Police and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) about the result he entered on the result sheet after he signed it.
After Majek’s testimony, Ikpeazu applied to close the defence of his client.
The tribunal granted the application especially as there was no objection from the other counsel.
The tribunal adjourned proceedings until Feb. 12 for the APC to open its case.
The News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) reports that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Mr Asue Ighodalo, had approached the tribunal praying it to invalidate the outcome of the governorship election.
The petitioners had sought the invalidation of the governorship election on the grounds of alleged non-compliance with the Electoral Act, 2022.
They further contended that Okpebholo did not secure the highest number of majority votes cast in that election.
