OSUN SPEAKER, AC DIFFER ON TRIBUNAL JUDGEMENT

Speaker, Osun State House of Assembly, Chief Adejare Bello, and the opposition Action Congress have differed on the Appeal Court judgement, which ordered a fresh trial of the petition filed by AC candidate, Mr Karmadin Akanni.

An Appeal Court sitting in Ibadan , Oyo State , on Tuesday, ordered the retrial of the Akanni, who challenged the victory of Bello three years ago.

The Justice Chioma Uwa-led court faulted the declaration of Bello as the winner of the April 14, 2007 Ede-North state constituency by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

But Bello , in a telephone text message by his Press Secretary Mr Olumide Ajayi, on Wednesday, expressed total belief in the country's judicial system, adding that he remained focused and undistracted.

Bello also expressed the hope that Peoples Democratic Party, to which he belongs, will win the retrial.

The AC described the verdict as a confirmation that the Justice Thomas Naron-led tribunal, which initially tried the case, was bias.

Director of Research and Strategy, Osun AC, Mr Sunday Akere, in a telephone interview with our correspondent, on Wednesday evening, lamented that six of the cases heard by the Naron tribunal had been returned by the Appeal Court for retrial at the lower court.

Akere said, 'We expected outright victory in the case instituted by our candidate against the Speaker. We are calling on the President of the Court of Appeal to expedite action on the reconstitution of the retrial panel because Bello has spent three of the four-year tenure.