31st October, 2011
The Presidential Election Tribunal siting in Abuja will on Tuesday deliver judgment in the petition brought by the Congress for Progressives Change, CPC, challenging the declaration of President Goodluck Jonathan as the winner of the April 16 Presidential election.
In a notice to parties in the matter obtained by P.M.NEWS, the Tribunal scheduled judgment in the matter for tomorrow at 9am.
The Tribunal had on 20th October ended its sitting in the CPC petition after taking all the witnesses called by the parties who also adopted their addresses.
At the last hearing of the matter counsel to the CPC, Mr. Oladipo Okpeseyi (SAN), had, while adopting his final address, told the court that he filed a preliminary objection against the defendants, written addresses to the effect that INEC abandoned its pleading having not called witnesses to substantiate them.
He had argued that the electoral body had called only three witnesses out of the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory and as such had abandoned its defence. He pointed out that INEC has not made any defence before the tribunal to defend the victory of President Jonathan who it returned on April 18, 2011 as the winner of the Presidential election.
“We submit that the confusion epitomises what we are saying about INEC and that is why we have asked them to bring those documents which it used in conducting the Presidential election to court,” he had argued as he urged the court to nullify the election.
By Nnamdi Felix / Abuja