Tunji Wusu –
The Cross River Governorship Election Petition Tribunal’s (EPT) Chair, Justice Oken Inneh, has postponed the case between Gov. Bassey Otu and Sen. Sandy Onor until August 14.
Before adjourning the sessions, Inneh allowed the parties 10 days to submit their written addresses for adoption and warned the attorneys for both sides to make sure their written submissions did not exceed 40 pages.
Dr. Erim Agbo, the state’s assistant organizing secretary for the APC, was the only witness Dr. Otu summoned earlier. He was being represented by Prof. Mike Ozekhome, SAN.
Mr. Effiong Umo, the APC’s State Assistant Legal Adviser, was summoned as a witness on behalf of the APC by Essien Andrew, SAN.
Agbor, the governor’s witness, adopted his witness statement from his deposition on May 18 before starting his evidence.
He confirmed that the third respondent, Mr. Peter Odey, Deputy Governor of Cross River, was a member of the APC and had submitted his party’s membership register, while the second respondent, Otu, had received general approval from his party to run for office.
He further informed the court that it was not customary to remove a member’s name after a resignation and that names of deceased or resigned members could still be present.
The APC witness, Umo, stated that he spoke with the second and third responders on a number of occasions about their qualifications and suitability to run for governor.
He further revealed that the acquaintance and information they each and everyone provided him with served as the foundation for his witness statement.
Additionally, he acknowledged that before advising his party, he carefully reviewed all the documents submitted by the second and third defendants.
At the conclusion of the day’s sessions, the petitioners’ attorney, Dr. Jonah Musa, SAN, stated that the witnesses called couldn’t respond to inquiries about the second and third respondents’ personal documents.
“Whatever they say is documentary hearsay,” he asserted.
Ozekhome, Otu’s attorney, also reacted by stating that “the burden of proof is on the assertor; he who makes an allegation must prove it.”
The petitioners claimed that Odey the Deputy Governor must have taken the oath of allegiance to Great Britain, but he claimed that he did not, and at this point, it is their responsibility to present any documents that would support their claim.
“Since they did not submit any supporting documentation, their case is now without merit because they are no longer relying on infractions.
“I submitted four judgments with the same parties to the issue, and in all of these cases, the court found that their qualifications were complete and lacking in any way that would disqualify them.
Dual citizenship is not a bar to employment, so I can guarantee you that our time has been wasted, Ozekhome remarked.
While Gov. Otu was accused by a PDP candidate of lacking the necessary academic credentials to run in the governorship election on March 18, his deputy is charged with swearing allegiance to the British Empire.
