Election tribunal throws out lawmaker’s request

Posted by admin Cross River, Headlines, State News Saturday, May 21st, 2011

The Election Petitions Tribunal for the national and state assembly elections in Cross River State has refused to grant a motion exparte brought by the member representing Obubra 1 state constituency in the state House of Assembly, Mr. Fabian Okpa.

Okpa, who contested the April 26 election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, lost to his Action Congress of Nigeria counterpart, Chief Alex Irek. The PDP candidate is seeking to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission to tender electoral materials used for the exercise.

In the motion, Counsel to Okpa, Mr. Ebaye Okonyom, asked the court to compel INEC to bring for inspection all the material used in the election where Irek was returned by INEC.

“The Motion is an exparte motion. We are asking the court to get some relevant materials that were used during the election to present to tribunal so that they will not be tempered with when our petition is filed,” Okonyom said.

However, in his ruling on the motion, the Tribunal Chairman, Justice Muhammed Nabarun, turned down the petitioner’s prayer. He, instead, directed the petitioner to put all the parties in his application including INEC on notice.

Commenting on the ruling, a Calabar-based legal practitioner, Mr. Utum Eteng said, “I am not a counsel in this matter, but I sat in court to watch deliberations.

“If they have to make orders, other parties have to be put on notice before the motion can be argued. It ceases to be a motion exparte, if it becomes a motion on notice. Above all, at this stage, INEC is not a party, so I was wondering how an order can be made to be binding on somebody who is not a party in the matter.

“I think the ruling is quite in order. It does not stop them from getting this same order when the proper petition is filed and the parties are put on notice.”

Meanwhile, the tribunal has so far received over 20 petitions challenging the outcome of the last elections in the state.

-Punchwp_posts