The Edo Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Benin has received petitions from five political parties and their candidates, challenging the declaration of Governor Godwin Obaseki as the rightful winner of the September 19 poll.
The Secretary of the tribunal, Sunday Martins, confirmed this in Benin on Monday. Martin’s said that the 21-day window period for the submission of petitions ended on Saturday.
He, however, said the bailiff had not succeeded in his efforts to personally serve Obaseki the court notice.
The political parties are the Action Peoples Party, Action Alliance, Allied Peoples’ Movement, the New Nigeria Peoples Party, and Action Democratic Party, Mr Iboi Emmanuel.
All the petitions joined Obaseki, the Peoples Democratic Party and Independent National Electoral Commission as respondents.
The petition by ADP and its candidate had the governor, PDP, INEC and Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the All Progressives Congress as defendants.
Candidates of APP and AA petitions were challenging their unlawful exclusion from the ballot papers by INEC, after having been validly-nominated by their party, in line with the Electoral Act.
They were praying the tribunal to nullify the election and order a fresh poll to be conducted within 90 days.
