Jayne Uche-Ukonne
25 February 2008
Aba — Election petition tribunal, sitting in Umuahia, Abia state will today deliver judgment, in the petition filed against Governor Theodore Orji by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the April 14, 2007 gubernatorial poll, Chief Onyema Ugochukwu.
Already, uneasy calm has enveloped the state as supporters of both Governor Orji and Chief Ugochukwu anxiously await the tribunal's ruling.
Chief Ugochukwu and his party have separately challenged the victory of Chief Orji and his party immediately after the election, citing irregularities and other electoral frauds. They hinged their petitions on three grounds of non qualification of Chief Orji and his deputy, membership of a secret cult and not scoring the highest lawful votes cast in the election by the Progressive Peoples Allianbce (PPA) and its candidate.
The two petitions, which were later consolidated by the tribunal on thse three grounds alleged that Governor Orji and his deputy Comrade Akomas were not qualified as at the time of the election to contest because they did not resign their appointments with the State Civil Service; that Governor Orji had received a recent initiation into a secret cult prior to the election and that there was massive electoral fraud that brought up the figures announced as result that gave Orji victory, saying that when proper collation of results were done and properly computed that PDP and its candidate would emerge victorious.
They also called witnesses to give oral evidence to their claims with Chief Ugochukwu, a forensic hand writing expert from the police, Mr. Iwunze, who testified that about one hundred persons wrote about 1086 result sheets sent to him, secretary of Okija shrine, one Mr. Olisabueze, who told the tribunal that Governor Orji recent initiation at the shrine made him a member of the secret society were the witnesses in chief.
Governor Orji and the PPA who through their lawyers had attempted to knockout the petitions at the initial stage on technical points but failed, put up a good defence and called three witnesses with whom they tried to puncture all the evidence and pleadings of the prosecution, however, the governor did not come in person to testify, especially on his alleged membership of a secret cult.
They tendered purported letters of resignation of appointments of the governor and his deputy from the civil service through Comrade Akomas who was one of the witnesses. The deputy Govenror also made attempts to debunk the allegation of Governor Orji's membership of a secret cult.
At the end of their pleadings, the defence prayed the tribunal to strike out the petition for lack of merit, a position the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which was also a defendant in the petition, supported.
After the adoption of the written submissions of the prosecution and the defence through their counsels on January 8, the tribunal chaired by Justice Abdullahi Yusuf, informed the parties that a date for judgment would be communicated to them, in due course.
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