Oshiomhole is Edo governor - Tribunal

The Edo State Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Benin on Thursday declared that the Action Congress candidate, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, was the winner of the April 14, 2007 gubernatorial election in the state.

In a unanimous decision, the tribunal said that Oshiomhole scored 166,577 lawful votes to beat his closest rival and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor, who scored 129,017 valid votes in the election.

Benin, the Edo State capital, went into jubilations as the news of the verdict hit the town, with the supporters of Oshiomhole and the AC sweeping the streets of Benin with brooms, the insignia of the AC.

The tribunal Chairman, Justice Peter Umeadi, who read the judgment ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Osunbor and give same to Oshiomhole.

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The overturned INEC‘s two results which gave victory to Osunbor showed that he scored 329,740 votes against 197,492 votes for Oshiomhole; and another invalid votes of 391,262 votes for Osunbor and 201,116 votes for Oshiomhole.

Umeadi said that Oshiomhole and the AC were able to prove that the declaration by INEC that Osunbor won the election did not conform with the provisons of the Electoral Act. He said the PDP and Osunbor failed to contradict the evidence adduced by the AC and Oshiomhole about irregularities and manipulation of results.

The tribunal also berated INEC for failing to adduce documetary evidence to support their claims that the election was peaceful, normal and that it conformed with the Electoral Act.

Incidentally, Oshiomhole and Osunbor were not in court. But the lead counsel to Osunbor and the PDP, Dr. Alex Izinyon (SAN), said his client would appeal against the verdict because of the received flaws in it.

The lead counsel to Oshiomhole and the AC, Chief Niyi Akintola (SAN), praised the courage of the tribunal and said it had rekindled the hope for Nigerains.

He said, “In a country with men and women with excellence without integrity; men and women who call themselves honourable without honesty, one cannot but thank God for your type, my Lords.

“May your type continue to exist. You have done just like the biblical Daniel who refused to to be corrupted by the delicious meal on the king‘s table.”

Meanwhile, Osunbor has called for calm. He said in a state broadcast: “It is with mixed feeling that I received this afternoon the news of the judgment of the Edo State election Petitions Tribunal in respect of the governorship election petition filed by Comrade Adams Oshiomhole of Action Congress.

“Although, many of our citizens must have been disappointed by the judgment of the tribunal, my party and myself intend to immediately file an appeal against the judgment after critically studying the details.

Oshiomhole and the AC had challenged the election results in 12 local government areas where they said there were multiple votings, ballot stuffing, falsification of results and violence which made the elections not to conform with the Electoral Act.

They particularly challenged the results in Esan North-East, Esan South-East, Esan West, Esan Central, Igueben, Owan West, Owan East, Orhionmwon, Ovia North-East, Ovia South-West, Etsako West and Uhunmwode local government areas.

They also called for the cancellation of the election in Akoko Edo and Etsako Central local government areas.

Though there was heavy police presence in the town before the verdict, violence had not been reported as at press time.

Oshiomhole on Thursday said his victory at the tribunal was a victory for the ordinary people.

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But the Peoples Democratic Party picked holes in the judgment.

Oshiomhole, who was addressing his supporters at his Benin home, said the PDP had been a national embarrassment.

”The PDP has been a national embarrassment. They have been an embarrassment to our state. Together we will start afresh to rebuild our state.”

The PDP, in its reaction, said the judgment contained what it called ”irreconcilable contradictions.”

A statement by the National Legal Adviser of the PDP, Chief Olusola Oke, said the party was dissatisfied with the judgment.

The PDP official also claimed that the tribunal failed to show how Oshiomhole met the requirement of one-third of the votes validly cast in two-thirds of the local governments in the state.

“The judgment cannot be said to be a logical deduction from a proper and unbiased evaluation of the evidence before the tribunal,” he added.

The Punch