PDP, ANPP Candidates In Court Battles In Cross River

The Federal High Court Calabar today commenced hearing on the case brought by the PDP demanding for the inclusion of the list of its candidates in the 2011 election by INEC.

Also today , the Reconstituted Local Government Election Tribunal sitting in High Court Six along Mary Slessor Avenue, Calabar began another hearing on the August 2010 Local Government petition filed by Mr. Tony Odey of the ANPP against Mr. Gabriel Ugor of the PDP.

The PDP, aggrieved that the INEC rejected its lists of candidates for the 2011 April election for allegedly failing to comply with the guidelines of the party and the 2010 Electoral Act, instituted a suit in the Federal High Court asking the court to compel INEC not to “reject, invalidate, or disqualify anyone submitted by the PDP for the purposes of contesting the April 2011 elections”.

The case before Justice A. A. Ademola has raised tension in the state as the PDP is alleging that the REC in the state, Mr. Michael Igini is working for the opposition to have the PDP candidates disqualified in the state to give the opposition an opportunity to win the April elections.

Reacting to the claims that Igini is working for the opposition and should be transferred from the state and the announcement on the state’s broadcast media that the ACN candidates have been disqualified and the State Exco of the party sacked, Mr. Cletus Obun, the ACN chairman in the state said it was the gimmick of the PDP to cause confusion in the party.

“The PDP knows its has a bad case and in its desperation it is sponsoring fictitious publications against the ACN, you can see one of such in the Daily Sun of Thursday, and for the state media when did they begin to be so liberal as to publicise what is happening in ACN?” Obun queried.

The ANPP candidate’s case in the tribunal follows the reconstitution of the local government election tribunal after the Appeal Tribunal last week asked for the retrial on merit the petition brought by Mr. Tony Odey against Mr. Gabriel Ugor of the PDP.

The petition was struck out by the Local Government Election Tribunal sitting in Ogoja in November 2010 for allegedly not complying with the 2010 Electoral Law in its filing procedures.

—Emma Una/ Calabar