The Court of Appeal sitting today in Benin, Edo State, upheld the election of Governor Godwin Obaseki as governor of the Edo State.
The appellate court validated Obaseki’s election victory in a judgment on the appeal brought before it by the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, against the ruling of the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which upheld the election of Governor Godwin Obaseki of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
The Justice of the appeal court, Monica Dongba-Mensen, president of the panel, averred that the appeal lack merit because the election could not be annulled based on allegation that the judges at the tribunal were compromised in the course of their duties.
Justice Dongba-Mensan dismissed the appeal of Ize-Iyamu appeal that the PDP and its candidates not given enough time to carry out vote recount, that was exceeded the 14 days allowed by law.
Recall that, the Justice Ahmed Badamasi-led Election Petition Tribunal had on April 14, 2017, upheld the election of Governor Obaseki of the APC, who was declared winner of the September 28, 2016 governorship election in Edo State by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
But not satisfied with the judgment, Ize-Iyamu had, through his counsel, led by Yusuf Ali, SAN, appealed the judgment, asking the appellate court to rely on and use the evidence of the first appellant as recorded by Justice Gilbert Ngele (member 1) of the lower tribunal instead of that of the Tribunal’s chairman, Justice Ahmed Badamasi.
On the contrary, Counsel to the defendant, Wole Olanipekun, SAN, urged the court to dismiss the appeal, saying that the grounds of the appeal were watery, adding that the bottom-line of the petition was abandoned at the trial court by the appellants.
