Benue Governorship Tribunal Fixes Date For Hearing Of Petition

The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Makurdi today June 29, 2011 has fixed July 11, 2011 for commencement of pre hearing in the petition filed by Prof Steve Ugbah challenging the election of Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State. Delivering the ruling through a motion ex parte which was filed by ACN legal team asking the Tribunal to set the petition for hearing pursuant to Paragraph 18 of the 1st Schedule to the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended), the tribunal ordered that, its Secretary should issue out Form TF009 to all the parties for pre-hearing conference.

The tribunal has also ordered INEC Benue State to produce all ballot papers used for the conduct of the Governorship election on April 26, 2011 in the Local Governments which they had failed to produce for the inspection by the Petitioners in Makurdi.

The Local Governments are; Logo, Ukum, Guma and Apa. INEC had earlier referred the Petitioners to the headquarters of those Local Governments to go and carry out the inspection. But the ACN legal team through Barrister Andrew Wombo, G. T Igba and Mike Assoh this morning moved the tribunal through and ex parte application to compel INEC to make available the said ballot papers in Makurdi for inspection.

Prof Steve Ugbah is challenging the re-election of Governor Gabriel Suswam in the April 26, 2011.

In a similar development, the tribunal has also fixed July 7, 2011 for pre-hearing conference in the case of Prof Daniel Saror of the ANPP challenging the election of Governor Gabriel Suswam on the ground that Governor Gabriel Suswam was not qualified to contest the 2011 Governorship Election in Benue State having presented a forged GCE 1982 O/Level Certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).