Mr. Chijioke Edeoga, the Labour Party’s candidate for governor in Enugu State, said the election petition tribunal hearing the case in Enugu on Friday that he will invite 36 witnesses to testify against Governor Peter Mbah of the People’s Democratic Party to demonstrate the fabrication of his certificate.
The Labour Party candidate, Edeoga, is putting more pressure on Mbah, who was declared the victor of the March 18 governorship election in Enugu State by the Independent National Electoral Commission, over his alleged forgery of the National Youth Service Corps discharge certificate presented to the election umpire.
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Edoga is requesting that the tribunal reject Mbah for allegedly forging his NYSC credentials.
The petitioners informed the panel during the tribunal’s resumed session on Friday that they planned to call a total of 28 witnesses under their control as well as eight witnesses who had been subpoenaed.
In addition, Numa informed the tribunal, presided over by Justice K. M. Akano, that it would take five weeks to call the witnesses and that they had agreed that those under their control would need 15 minutes for cross-examination.
As they would plan the procedure, he added, they had taken care of the interpreter.
Responding, counsel to Mbah and the PDP, Mr Wole Olanipekun and Mr Tochukwu Maduka, respectively, argued that the FCT High Court had resolved the issue of alleged certificate forgery as there was a leave of appeal and that Sections 177 and 182 of the constitution had settled the matter.
Numa said that there was no record of any appeal on such subject matter, adding that the court could not speculate on the existence of an appeal.
He said that the tribunal had competent jurisdiction for the matter and pleaded the court’s indulgence to strike out the objection.
“177 and 182 of the constitution are mutually exclusive, 182 has more elaboration than 177, so they are two separate provisions that stand on their own. I, therefore, invite your Lordship to decline those invitations,” he said.
The counsel to Mbah, Olanipekun, said that they would be calling 44 witnesses, adding that they required 25 days to call all their witnesses and 15 minutes for cross-examination.
Olanipekun said that the petition on the ground that the second respondent was not qualified due to alleged certificate forgery was not a petition before the tribunal, noting that the tribunal had no jurisdiction over the matter.
