The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Enugu State has commenced sitting on the petition filed by Labour Party and its candidate, Chijioke Edeoga, against the election of Dr Peter Mbah as the governor of the state.
At the resumed hearing on Friday, the petitioners presented the National Youth Service Corps as its first witness in defence of their petition.
Edeoga and his party is challenging the election of Mbah on the grounds that he did not secure the highest lawful votes cast in the March 18 governorship election and that the respondent, submitted a forged NYSC discharge certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Testifying before the tribunal on Friday evening, NYSC tendered among others documents, including the alleged forged discharge certificate, as well as the original discharge certificate which Mbah ought to have collected.
The corps also tendered a letter written by Oma and Partners, an Abuja-based law firm, which had asked the Corps to scrutinise the discharge certificate submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission by the governor.
The petitioners, represented by Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, who is the lead counsel, alongside Dr Valerie Azinge, SAN, Ifeanyi Ogenyi Esq, and others, led the Petitioners Witness 1 (PW1) in evidence.
The third respondent, the Peoples Democratic Party, its counsel, Anthony Ani (SAN), objected to the admissibility of the document and opted to move a motion dated and filed on the 7th day of July 2023, which sought to pray the tribunal to strike out the written deposition of the PW1 on the grounds of incompetence.
The 1st respondent, INEC, as well as the 2nd respondent (Peter Mbah) aligned themselves with the submission of Ani and prayed the court to strike out the written deposition of Mohammed (PW1) for lack of competence.
The matter was adjourned till Tuesday, July 11, 2023 for further hearing.
