17th February, 2012
The Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned till Friday, 2 March, to deliver its decision on an appeal instituted by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, challenging the victory of Chief Rochas Okorocha at the Imo state Governorship election.
The PDP is also challenging the powers of the Independent National Electoral Commission to cancel the election in some local government areas of the state and conducting a supplementary election through which Okorocha emerged as the governor of the state after defeating the party’s candidate, Ikedi Ohakim.
The party represented by Chief Wole Olanipekun, a senior advocate of Nigeria, urged the court to dismiss the concurrent decision of the tribunal and the appellate court which upheld the victory of Rochas Okorocha.
Governor Okorocha represented by Chief Adeniyi Akintola, also a senior advocate of Nigeria, urged the court to dismiss the appeal and affirm the decisions of the tribunal and the appellate court which had upheld the victory of Okorocha in the election matter.
Akintola argued that the appellants must depend on the strength of their case and not on the weakness of the respondent’s case.
INEC, representated by Dr. Alex Izinyon (SAN), on the other hand argued that the PDP was wrong in claiming that it cancelled an election. The electoral body maintained that the Imo state governorship election was inconclusive which gave rise to a supplementary election and noted that the issue of cancellation did not arise.
The electoral body further argued that there was no evidence of any return made in the botched election to show that the election indeed held before it was cancelled as alleged by the PDP. The botched election, according to INEC, was an inconclusive one which gave rise to the supplementary election.
It also called on the court to affirm the victory of Rochas Okoroch at the polls.
—Nnamdi Felix / Abuja