The National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Asaba, Delta State has formulated three major issues for determination in the petition filed by Michael Diden of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Diden is challenging the declaration of Joel Onowakpo of the All Progressive Congress (APC) as winner of the February 25, 2023 Delta south senatorial district election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
At the resumed session of the three-member tribunal headed by Justice Cathrine Ogunsola on Saturday, three issues were formulated as agreed by the respective counsels to parties in the petition marked EPT/DT/SEN/ 01/2023.
The issues include competence; substantial compliance with the provisions of the law in the conduct of the election; and the candidate with the majority of lawful votes cast at the polls.
With the formulation of the issues for determination, the tribunal declared the pre-trial conference closed and adjourned the petition to June 16 for hearing.
The tribunal also adjourned hearing in the cross petition filed by Onowakpo, seeking the disqualification of Diden over alleged certificate forgery, to June 15.
The adjournment in the cross petition also followed the declaration of the close of pre-hearing conference by the tribunal after formulating one issue for determination in agreement with counsels.
Meanwhile, rulings in applications brought by counsel to the cross petitioner, Habeeb Lawal, and the issue raised by lead counsel to the respondent, Michael Aondoaka (SAN), were reserved by Justice Ogunsola.
In the main petition, Diden is seeking to be declared winner of the election, insisting that INEC was wrong to have canceled the results of the entire Warri South Local Government Area before declaring Onowakpo as winner.
The petitioner contends that the number of registered voters and number of collected PVCs in Warri South was enough to alter the margin of lead in the other seven councils.
The petitioner added that INEC should have either conducted supplementary election or collated the polling units results for 11 out of the 12 wards of Warri South before the final declaration.
Insisting that the election in Warri South was peacefully conducted in accordance with the procedure spelt out in the Electoral Act, 2022, Guidelines and Manuals issued by INEC.
The petitioners maintained that the action of INEC despite protest from their agents amounted to a breach of the Electoral Act, 2022 and INEC’s Regulations and Guidelines.
