2011 Guber Poll Election Petition: Uduaghan Can't Stop Ogboru's Petition

The April 26, 2011 election petition tribunal sitting in Asaba, Delta State has dismissed an application filed by the state governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), urging the tribunal to declare as abandoned the petition filed by Great Ovedje Ogboru of the Democratic Peoples' Party (DPP). While noting that the petitioner reply filed on June 22 was duly filed and served on respondent on June 23, Justice Ayo Abisoye, who led the three-man tribunal, dismissed the respondent motion for lacked of merit.       

Counsel to Governor Uduaghan, Wole Olanipekun (SAN), had urged the tribunal to declare the petition of the petitioner as being abandoned on the ground that it failed to file a reply to its petition within the alleged five day, while counsel to Mr Ogboru, Nicholes Ichekor, prayed it to dismiss the respondent's application, as the reply to its petition was filed within the stipulated period, with the exclusion of weekends.  

Delivering her ruling on the matter, Justice Ayo Abisoye said that the petitioner (Mr Ogboru) filed his reply to the respondent petition within the stipulated period of five days, and that the petitioner's reply, dated June 22, to that of the respondent's which was filed June 16, 2011, was in order.  

She said the amended 2010 Electoral Act as well as the Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rule was ambiguous in what should be the acceptable parameter in computing days as against the 2006 electoral act which stipulates that the 30 days for the filing of election petition commences from the day the election result was declared by INEC. 'Computing of time of filing election petition no longer commence from the day the election result was declared but start from the next day.'  

'There was lacuna in the entire 2010 amended electoral act as regards the time for filing tribunal petition, as against the 2006 electoral act which stipulates that the 30 days for the filing of election petition commences from the day the election result was declared by INEC.  

"There is no clear cut parameter to compute time in the electoral act. Computing of time of filing election petition no longer commences from the day the election result was declared, but starts from the next day.  

"The petitioner was served with the respondent's reply on June 16, 2011, which has June 22, 2011 as the last five days, excluding Saturday and Sunday, which are 18th and 19th, was within the time limit stipulated in paragraph 16 (1) to the first schedule of the electoral act.  

"It showed that the computing of time start a day after the declaration of result. Petitioner reply to that of the respondent happened on 4. 10 pm on June 16, which continue to run to 4.10 pm on June 22, 2011. Having filed its reply on June 22, it was deemed that the petitioner filed 4.10 pm."  

All is now set for the legal battle between Great Ovedje Ogboru, Democratic Peoples' Party (DPP) candidate and Emmanuel Uduaghan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the conduct of last April 26 governorship elections in Delta.  

This followed the dismissal of Uduaghan's motion urging the tribunal to declare Ogboru's petition as being abandoned having allegedly failed to file reply to the respondent's reply to his petition within the stipulated period of five days.  

By this judgment, the tribunal has adjourned sitting to Wednesday (July 27) for the proper commencement of hearing of the petition.  

Recall that the Uzoamaka Doris Ogwuike led January 6, 2011 re-run election tribunal had two weeks ago dashed Uduaghan's bid to truncate the tribunal to hear Ogboru's petition on the grounds that the petition had been abandoned by the petitioner.