WITNESSES REBUT OGBORU'S CLAIM ON DELTA RE-RUN ELECTION

By NBF News

By EMMA AMAIZE
ASABA-SIX defence witnesses called by the Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, in the petition against him by the Democratic Peoples Party, DPP, governorship candidate, Chief Great Ogboru, in the January 6 governorship re-run election,  yesterday, told the tribunal that elections took place in Warri South, Ethiope West and Bomadi local government areas of the state.

At the resumed hearing in the petition at the Delta State Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Asaba, the defence witnesses said elections took place in the areas.

It will be recalled that 13 witnesses had on Friday, testified that election did not hold in several wards in eight local government areas during the re-run election  ordered for the state by the Court of Appeal, Benin.

The defence witnesses, who testified, yesterday, were  Ama Agbajoh, PDP chairman in Warri South council;  Mr. Lucky Ibori, party agent, Ethiope West; Gospel Golley, voter, Ethiope West; Mr. Helen Idjerhe, voter, Ethiope West; Ebitemi John, voter, and Sylvester Okoroware, party agent, Bomadi, all of whom testified that elections in their various units and wards were free and fair.

Uduaghan, opened his defence, yesterday, after the petitioner's counsel, led by Mr. Mogbeyi Sagay, SAN, had presented its case, but Dr. Alex Izinyon,SAN, lead defence counsel, called Agbajoh, who told the tribunal that the evidence given by petitioner's witness, (PW5), Tony Olubo, that elections did not hold in units 006, 007, 009, 010, 011 and 013 of Ward 3, Warri South council was not true.

He said that the two places where  hitches were recorded were at Okumagba, Ward 12 and, which, results were mutilated and Olodi Ogwa, where the ballot box was taken to the God's Grace Ministry, Arubayi Street, two kilometres from the actual polling unit, a development that prompted INEC to cancel the result from the areas.