Rivers Guber: PDP Opens Defence At Tribunal

The Rivers State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday started the presentation of its defence to prove that its candidate,Governor Nyesom Wike won the April 11 governorship election.
Counsel to the PDP, Mr. Ifedayo Adedipe (SAN) in Abuja started by tendering incident and oath of neutrality forms of all INEC officials who participated in the election
Our correspondent reports that the incident form is the form used when the card reader machine failed to recognise the finger print during the process of accreditation.
The party was at the tribunal to prove that manual accreditation actually took place, where the card reader could not perform its function.

 Adedipe told the tribunal that the incident form that was tendered was only for Obio/Akpor Local Government Area.
He told the tribunal that the oath of neutrality and affirmation forms tendered were for 18 local government areas in the state.

 He mentioned the local government as Port Harcourt, Obio/Akpor, Eleme, Gokana, Khana, Okrika, Ogu/Bolo, Ahoada East, Ahoada West, Tai, and Ikwere.
Others are Abua/Odual, Andoni, Opobo/Nkoro, Bonny, Ogba/Egbema, Ndoni and Oyigbo local government, respectively.

 According to Adedipe, the documents were tendered to fault the allegations by the state All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate for the election, Dr. Dakuku Peterside that neutrality form was not administered on the officials.
Adedipe said that the forms were not administered on the ad-hoc staff of the INEC, who conducted the election.

 He added that the state APC had also alleged that the incident forms were not used during the governorship election, hence the need for the PDP to tender it and counter the APC allegation.
He said that the PDP was committed to assisting the tribunal to reach its decision through the relevant documents.

 According to Adedipe, more documents will be tendered by the party today, in addition to the witnesses it will be presenting to prove its case.
Reacting to the tendering of the documents, counsel to the APC, Mr Akinlolu Olujimi (SAN), objected to the admissibility but stated that he would give his reasons at the final written addresses.
Meanwhile, the tribunal Chairman, Justice Suleiman Ambrusa admitted all the documents, and marked them as exhibits.
He adjourned sitting to Friday, October, 9.

culled from Tide