Elections Petition Tribunal begins sitting in Ekiti

The   Senatorial and State House of Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal yesterday held its inaugural sitting in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, with a warning to interested parties to desist from smear campaign against any of its members.
The three-man panel, headed by Justice A.N. Erahor has Justices A.T. Lamina and P.A. Obayi  as members. Already, a total of six petitions have been filed before the tribunal.
In his inaugural speech, Justice Erahor described the assignment as a critical and crucial national assignment that must be diligently prosecuted.
He called on the parties to take cognizance of the fact that it had a total of 180 days to dispense the matters before them in line with Section 285 of the 1999 Constitution.

Justice Erahor assured that the tribunal would handle all matters dispassionately and be impartial arbiters throughout the period the matters will be heard.
“If you notice any infraction in the course of the proceeding, just call our attention to it. We don’t want any frivolous allegation  against any of the members of this tribunal.
“Nobody has monopoly of knowledge, I expect everybody to play his role professionally so that all the issues can be handled firmly and fairly.
“The Supreme Court has set a time frame of 180 days in line with Section 285 subsections 6 and 7 of the 1999 constitution. This law is sacrosanct  because of the suo generic nature of the Election Petition and it is on this basis that we have to avoid unnecessary distraction.
“We are appealing to the security agencies to provide security for the
Judges, Lawyers, Politicians and other members of the public”, he
appealed  .
The Attorney General and Commissioner For Justice, Barr Owoseeni Ajayi, assured the Judges of safety throughout their time in Ekiti, saying the Ayodele Fayose-led administration would strive hard to provide conducive atmosphere for them to discharge their duty.
“As a government, we are assuring you of conducive atmosphere, but without compromise. We are urging you not to be distracted by political sentiments. It is a usual practice for politicians to insinuate , but just work according to your conscience and once you do this, you are free of all burdens”, he said. The Lawyers to the Petitioners,  Barr I. K.  Olanrewaju and his PDP’s counterpart, Kolapo Kolade , pledged to cooperate with the Tribunal for expeditious hearing of the petitions.
The representative of one of the petitioners, Akogun Tai Oguntayo  expressed optimism that the APC  will get justice with the promise of the Tribunal that it won’t be biased . Oguntayo promised that the party will abide by all the principles guiding the election petition tribunal to enhance hitch-free and speedy hearing of the petition.

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