Delta Governorship Tribunal: Ogboru, APC Closes Case, Awaits Okowa, PDP Defence

The Delta State All Progressive Congress (APC) and it’s Governorship Candidate for the March 9, 2019 election, Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru on Tuesday 16 July 2019, closed their case with presentation of documented evidence at the state governorship election petitions tribunal sitting in Asaba.

The Petitioners (Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru and APC), having called about twenty (20) witnesses, decided to close their case (petitioners’ case).

Ogboru is challenging the return of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as winner of the March 9 election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Apart from calling of witnesses, the Petitioners also tendered volumes of documentary evidence which includes voters’ registers and results from polling units level up to the State level (EC8A’s to EC8E’s) in proof of their case, to show that 9th of March, 2019 governorship election was senselessly rigged by PDP.

Meanwhile, the 1st Respondent, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa who was supposed to open his defence on 17th July, 2019, pleaded for time to enable them study, the case of the Petitioners.

Notwithstanding the application of the 1st respondent, the tribunal insisted that the 1st respondent’s time starts running from 17th of July, 2019. That is, by Tuesday, July 23, 2019 when the tribunal will re-convened based on the application of 1st Respondent, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa would be left with only five days to state his defence to the petition/case of the Petitioners, instead of ten days originally allocated to him.

Hearing of the defence of the 1st Respondent comes up on Tuesday, 23rd of July, 2019.