Adams Oshiomhole Not Qualified To Be Governor, Airhiavbere Tells Tribunal
Huhuonline.com can report that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the July 14, 2012 Edo state governorship election , Major-General Charles Airhiavbere (retired), has replied Governor Adams Oshiomhole, the Action Congress of Nigeria
(ACN) candidate in the petition filed at the Election Tribunal sitting in Benin City against the governor's re-election.
Airhiavbere, in his reply to the respondents' address on Tuesday, maintained that Governor Oshiomhole was ill-qualified to have participated in the said governorship poll, according to Section 177 (d) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and infraction of Section 182 (1) (j) of the same Constitution (as amended).
While emphasising that the primary school allegedly attended by Oshiomhole was non-existent and that the governor failed to complete his Secondary Modern education, Airhiavbere claimed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the 3rd respondent did not follow its laid down rules and regulations in registering voters for the election.
The petitioner added that INEC had failed to carry out a revision that is expressly prohibited before the election, it did not observe laid down accreditation and voting procedures for statistical data, as well as produced a new manual register for use in the election.
Airhiavbere's reply was contained in an eight-paragraph affidavit in support of his petition, filed by his counsel led by Chief E. L. Akpofure (SAN), Messrs S. O. Agwinede, P. O. Itua, D. O. Inegbeboh, R. I. Okunbo (Mrs.) and K. I. Aigbe.
'In specific reply to paragraphs 24 of the 2nd respondent's reply to the petition, the petitioners state that the 1st respondent is not the owner of the Secondary Modern School Certificate and the altered Testimonial presented to the 3rd respondent and the 1st does not have Primary School Leaving Certificate.
'There was no Iyamho Primary School, Iyamho in 1957. The 1st respondent was barred from enrolling into and entering primary one in 1957 having not attained the minimum age of six years by the provision of Western Region of Nigeria Gazette No. 17, Vol. 5 dated 5th April, 1956. The 1st respondent dropped out of the Secondary Modern School in the second year and did not complete the mandatory three years course at Blessed Martins Secondary Modern School, Jattu-Uzairue, which he claimed to have attended between 1963 and 1965. Unexplained discrepancies in the academic certificates presented as foresaid.'
The aggrieved PDP governorship candidate also argued that the production of new Manual Registers for use in the governorship election amounted to a revision or amendment which was clearly prohibited by the 3rd Respondent, INEC.
He however claimed that the addition and alteration of the said 2011 Voters' Registers amounted to a revision which voids the said governorship election in the state.