Participating political parties in the 2016 governorship election in Edo State have adopted their written addresses at the Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Benin City, the state’s capital.
Consequently, the tribunal adjourned to write its judgment in the suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, challenging the declaration of Governor Godwin Obaseki as the winner of the election, by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The adjournment comes after counsels to the parties argued on points of law to buttress their cases, as the tribunal which started in November 2016 gradually comes to an end.
During the session, the lawyers pushed their arguments in the form of written addresses, while the petitioners’ lead counsel, Yusuf Ali, asked the tribunal to declare his client Pastor Ize-Iyamu as the winner of the election.
Expressing hope of victory in the case, Mr Ali said: “We hope for the best. We have adopted our addresses, so we hope victory will be on our side at the end of the day by the grace of God”.
Counsel to Governor Obaseki and the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Lateef Fagbemi, however, urged the court to dismiss the petition for lack of merits.
“If any other thing fails, what will not fail and without any attempt of taking the role of the tribunal is that Obaseki has won.
“Even if you make all the deductions that they are talking about which we have not conceded, Obaseki would still have won by a whopping figure of 58,696 and also have the required spread,” he said.
On his part, the counsel to INEC, Mr Onyechi Ikpeazu, insisted that the PDP has a weak case.
“We believe we did all we could in order to meet the very week case presented by the petitioners,” he said.
At the end, the three-man tribunal, led by Justice Ibrahim Badamasi, adjourned to write its judgment which would be delivered on a yet to be announced date.