Onuminya Innocent in Sokoto
The Sokoto State All Progressives Congress (APC) and its gubernatorial candidate, Alhaji Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto, have filed a petition at the 2019 gubernatorial Elections Petitions Tribunal, challenging the election of Governor Aminu Waziiri Tambuwal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
A member of the APC legal team in the state, Bashir Mu’azu Jodi, disclosed this to journalists in Sokoto Thursday shortly after the sitting of the tribunal on behalf of the lead counsel, Dr. Alex Izinyon (SAN).
Jodi added that the counsel have over 40 witnesses to present at the court when the hearing of the case commences.
Jodi added that there are many cogent grounds upon which the election of Tambuwal is being challenged, centering majorly on tampering of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended during the March 9, 2019, gubernatorial election as well as the March 23, 2019, rerun gubernatorial poll.
The respondents are the PDP gubernatorial candidate Tambuwal; Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the PDP.
According to him, the respondents will later be served, while they have two weeks to reply after which the court will fix a date for hearing.
Meanwhile, the court has granted an exparte order to allow the APC counsel to inspect the electoral materials used for the two polls.
The materials include various forms, ballot papers, card reader machines among others.
This was sequel to the filing of motion exparte by the APC counsel.
Jodi explained that INEC would later be served with the order while a date will be fixed for them to inspect the materials and where necessary, take the certified true copies of some of them.
