Bayelsa State Election Petition Tribunal has begun pre-trial hearing of the petition filed by former governor and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the March 28 National Assembly election, Chief Timipre Sylva, against the declaration of Mr. Ben Murray-Bruce as senator-elect.
Chief Sylva had approached the Election Petition Tribunal headed by Justice C.A. Ononoeze Madu, asking it to declare the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senator Murray- Bruce, not qualified to contest the March 28 National Assembly election due to his dual citizenship and the refusal to relinquish such before the election.
The former governor's prayer before the tribunal was that due to the irregularities and manipulations allegedly carried out by the PDP and its agents during the elections in Brass and other parts of the senatorial district, he should be upheld and declared valid winner of the National Assembly election.
At the pre-trial hearing yesterday, Barr Abang Odok Ogar, counsel to Chief Timipre Sylva, engaged in legal arguments with counsel to Senator Murray-Bruce, Chief (Barr.) Duro Adeleye, and counsel to Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Barr Samuel Brisibe, over the legality of the motion for extension of time to respond to the objection raised by defendants to Sylva’s petition.
Ogar, in his argument for an order of the court to grant the motion for an extension of time to respond to the objections raised by the duo of Olaleye and Brisibe, argued that the motion for extension of time was based on mandatory position of law, adding that according the Court of Appel in Egbese and co versus PDP in 2015, the motion can be granted and cannot be stopped due to rule of the court.
Adeleye argued that the authority cited by Ogar is not applicable to the argument before the tribunal, adding: “It is not a question of rule but it is a matter of statute.”
The presiding judge, Justice Madu, however fixed June 12 for ruling on the application by Ogar on the motion for extension of time.