The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has told the Election Petitions Tribunal in Benin City that it was not served the petition by Omosede Igbinedion, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Ovia Federal Constituency.
It said the petitioners should have served the petition on it at its headquarters in Abuja and not Benin City.
INEC’s lawyer, Chris Omatsone,who spoke at the pre-trial hearing while presenting a motion to strike aside service on INEC, said the commission was a creation of statute.
Igbinedion’s lawyer, Kingsley Obamogie, also presented a motion seeking to strike out INEC’s reply to the petition for incompetence.
Tribunal chairman Justice O. Ogundana adjourned sitting till May 10 for hearing of all the pending motions.
Meanwhile, 448 witnesses are to be called in the petition filed by the candidate of the APC, John Inegbedion, challenging the victory of Senator Clifford Ordia of the PDP in the Edo Central Senatorial election.
The petitioner said he would call 95 witnesses while Ordia, INEC and the PDP said they would call 86, 27 and 40 witnesses.
The petitioner’s lawyer, Ken Mozia, said the 95 witnesses would be called from 95 of the 456 polling units in the district.
The tribunal granted the petitioner and the respondents 14 and 10 days to conclude examination of their witnesses and announced May 17 for the start of hearing.
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