The Akwa Ibom State Governor¬ship Election Tri¬bunal holden at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory Complex, Maitama, Abu¬ja has struck out a peti¬tion by the candidate of the Labour Party, Sena¬tor Helen Esuene seek¬ing to nullify the election of the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr Udom Emmanuel.
Presiding Judge, Hon Jus¬tice A. S. Umar at the week¬end in his ruling struck out the petition of the Akwa Ibom State Labour Party candidate and held that the petition was incompetent.
Mr Paul Usoro, Counsel to the Akwa Ibom State Gover¬nor, had challenged the com¬petence of the LP candidate’s petition on grounds that Ex¬hibit A, the purported certi¬fied true copy (CTC) of the signature page of the petition, attached to the petitioners’ counter affidavit to the motion is not a CTC having failed to satisfy the requirements of Section 104 and 105 of the Evidence Act.
The Usoro also held that the petition in the record of the Tribunal did not disclose the signatory thereof as none of the names of Counsel listed therein was ticked to indicate who signed the petition.
He contended that the peti¬tioners failed to comply with the provisions of paragraph 4(3) of the First Schedule of the Electoral Act.