Benue South: My petition not dead on arrival – Onjeh

 

Lawyers to the senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 20 rerun election for Benue south senatorial district, Daniel Onjeh, said yesterday that his petition filed at the tribunal challenging the emergence of former Senate president, David Mark (PDP), was very competent.
Onjeh’s counsel, Mr. Adetunji Oso, stated yesterday that the petition by his client challenging the election of Mark was not dead on arrival.

Recall that lawyer to Mark, Kenneth Ikonne had last Thursday, after the adjournment of the case between Onjeh and Mark till 8th June 2016, insisted that the petition by the petitioner was incompetent to be treated by the tribunal.
However, counsel to Onjeh maintained that the case was only adjourned and pretrial yet to commence, saying no final pronouncement has been made on the matter by the court.
“The respondents’ motion to dismiss the petitioners’ petition is just a figment of their imaginations.
They are only buying time as their motion is a mere delay tactics. Sections 145 and 285 of both th Electoral Act 2010 as amended and the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended respectively, have clearly spelt the time within which a petitioner has to present his case before the Election Petition Tribunal, which is within 21 days after the date of declaration which the petitioner complied with.”