Enugu guber: Tribunal reserves judgment as parties adopt address

<p>The Enugu State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal has reserved judgement in the petition by Barr Chijioke Edeoga the governorship candidate of the Labour Party, LP, challenging the election of Governor Peter Mbah of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the March 18 governorship election in the State.</p>, <p>Edeoga is challenging the declaration of Mbah by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as the winner of the governorship election in the State.</p>, <p>All the parties adopted their final addresses before the tribunal on Wednesday.</p>, <p>Chairman of the panel, Justice Kudirat Morayo Akano, said the date would be duly communicated to the parties.</p>, <p>Adopting his final address, Edeoga’s counsel, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, asked the tribunal to hold the position of his clients and grant the reliefs sought.</p>, <p>This, he said, was because it had been established beyond any reasonable doubt that Mbah was at the time of the election not constitutionally qualified to contest having presented a forged certificate of National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, to INEC.</p>, <p>He said that the first Petitioner’s witness was an authority representing the NYSC, Director in charge of corps certification, and that his evidence proved the matter beyond reasonable doubt that the certificate was not issued by the NYSC.</p>, <p>“All evidence proved that the second respondent (Mbah) did not collect his certificate.</p>, <p>“There is incontrovertible evidence that on July 3, 2003, the second respondent (Mbah) became the Chief of Staff of Enugu State to Chimaroke Nnamani.</p>, <p>“The third defence witness (Udeh), who claimed that he gave letters to him, said he did not know if he got his certificate.</p>, <p>“The evidence of the third Defense witness (DSS) showed that there is no where it is proven that DSS investigated the process. Exhibit 63 showed that he did not come from the DSS authority; it also showed that the second respondent procured his NYSC certificate illegally,” he said.</p>, <p>He