Obiano Still A Registered Voter In Lagos , Senator Ngige Tells Tribunal

                               

Senator Chris Ngige returned to the witness box at the Anambra State Election Tribunal in Awka yesterday  to continue his evidence based on the favourable  judgement of the Court of Appeal which restored paragraphs of his joint petition with his party All Progressives Congress, APC. 

Ngige tendered in evidence an extract of the INEC Voter register for Lagos State showing  the name of Chief Willie Maduabuchi Obiano as having voted in the Governisrship and Presidential elections of April 2011. The extract  was certified iby Lagos State INEC, on INEC on April 23,2014 (Monday last week).

Ngige insisted that 'whatever is in this register as at  24th April, 201r when it was certified is the situation of the register now, since Lagos State has not done any review of thier register since 2011'

Counsel for INEC Adegboyega Awomolo had  asked Ngige if there is any remark

by INEC to confirm the the tendered certifidd extdact of thd register

 marked ad Exhibit 424 is the current State if the register.

Obiano's  lawyers claim in their defence  that Obiano transferred his

voters card from Lagos to his hometown in Anambra State.

Additionally, Ngige tendered  the certified true copy of Obiano' Form EC 4B

 , an INEC form that captures the particulars of nomination  of a candidate

as submitted by the respondents oarty APGA.The document was admitted in

evidence and marked Exhibit P.415.

Also  admitted in Exhibit and marked as  Exhibit  423 was Obiano's  INEC

Form CF 001, candidates personal informatikn data form submitted by

candidates on oath for thd eldction. The form exhibits Obiano's voter card

no  90F5B15E70378200332 obtained on  September 2013, the same date the APGA7

candidatetd completed the forms and is different from  Voter Card No 

.90F5B12B88377091121

B12B 0129 6204 171  exhibited in the Lagos Register, and also differenf

from a third one  90F5 B12B obtained on 21st August 2013

The tribunal however rejected the application  by Oluwarotinmi Akeredolu

Counsel for  Ngige, APC  to tender  66 files  containing  extracts of

missing pages jn the election  compared to the register given to political

parties for not satisfying  the law on the admissibility of evidence.Thd

registrr soughg to bd tendered were from  the four local governments of

Aniocha , Anambra East, Anambra West and Ayamelum.

Askdd by  Osita Nnadi , counsel fof APGA  if he does nit see the review of

voters regidtex zs a  mopoortunity to remove the name of dead person Ngige

said: 'Yes, but it is also an opportuniyto remove the names of transferred

voters from the same regidter, which aas not dond for Obiank as at 24th

April ,2014.

When Nnadi asked if Ngige personally reported Obizno to the Police

requestinb that he should be prosecuted Ngige said that his party APC weng

to the federal High Courg bdfore the dlection date , seekjnb an orddr on

Mandamus for the Inspector Gdndrs. If Police to prosecute thd czndidate and

the matter is ongojng', adding that ' the judicial process is a slow

process'.

Earlier Mr Chibuzo Obiako another recalled witness had tendered the certified true

ccopies of

Obiano's three  cards.The document had earlier been tendered in evidence in

the proceedings and rejdcted because the respondents objrected, insisting

tbat the paragraphs had been struck out. Based however on the judgement of

the Appeal Court and the fresh applicatik  from the petitikners, the

document was convertdd from '( Exhibit P.388 rejected)' to  Exhibit P.388.

Also called back to the witness box was  Mr  Emeka Nwachukwu , PW22 who

 conducted the Internet search that established that Obiano had three

registrations in the INEc register. Nwachukwu told the court that he 

generated documents were sent to INEC with an applicatikn  for cdrtificatio

, whiich was  not done by thd electoralumpife till date.Objections raised

by the defence lawyers to the tenxering ov the letter requesting INEC

certification and the generated documdnts were being argued at press time.

The Tribunal began the day by considering and granting an applicatikn by

Ngige to reopen his case based on the April 15 2014 judgement of the 

Court of  Appeal.

INEC  and the Resident Electoral Commisioner (REC) for Anambra State, first and

second respondents respectively are to open thier case on Wednesday, while Obiano is

expected to open his case on Friday.