Usani to Tribunal: Oshiomhole refused to submit my name as guber candidate

Former Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Usani, told the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Calabar, Cross River State, on Monday that the National Chairman of All Progressive Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, personally refused to submit his name as the governorship candidate in the March 9, 2019 election.

The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in the state has two separate governorship petitions from the APC in the state.

The petitions were filed former Senator of the central senatorial district of the state, John Owan-Enoh, and the former Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Usani, who have been in a protracted battle over the governorship candidacy of the APC in the state.

Usani’s submission yesterday was contained in his final written address, which was adopted on Monday by his lawyers led by Henrie Ituen who also prayed the Tribunal to consider Usani as a valid candidate that was excluded from the election.

He also prayed the Tribunal to annul the election and order a rerun where he should be the candidate of the party.

The respondents in the suit filed by Usani with case number EPT/CAL/GOV/02/2019, which are the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Governor Ben Ayade and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) all countered Usani’s submissions to the tribunal.

Counsels to the PDP and that of INEC led by Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu SAN and Ademola Adesina particularly prayed the tribunal to dismiss the petition of Usani because it was “an elevated abuse of court process”.

They said it was an elevated abuse of court process where the petitioner has not been validly nominated still came to the Tribunal and received the attention of the court without conflict.

They argued Usani was not validly nominated by his political party and that he admitted so in his witness testimonies and the final written address, where he alleged that Oshiomhole fraudulently refused to submit his name as a candidate.

The respondents also argued that the petitioner’s finally written address should be declared incompetent because it was filed out of time.

Earlier, the three-man panel, led by Justice Josiah Majebi, listened to the first governorship petition, with suit number EPT/CAL/GOV/01/2019 between APC governorship candidate, Sen. John Owan-Enoh vs Sen. Ben Ayade and INEC.

Owan-Enoh was challenging alleged unlawful exclusion from the election by INEC.

Counsel to the petitioner in this matter, Awa Kalu SAN had stated that though the state chapter of the party was in crisis of leadership, it did not obliterate the place of the national leadership of the party to choose its candidates.

Counsels to first respondent (Ben Ayade), Paul Erokoro SAN and of the second respondent (INEC), Ademola Adesina, held that the APC was enmeshed in crisis that foreclosed it from having a candidate for the elections and urged the Tribunal to dismiss the petition altogether as their internal crisis could not affect the victory of the PDP.

Justice Majemi, after the adoption of the written addresses of the two separate cases, expressed happiness with the maturity demonstrated by Counsels throughout the proceedings.

He announced that parties will be duly communicated on the date of the judgment.