TheNewsGuru

Tag: Ize-Iyamu

  • BREAKING: S’Court affirms Obaseki’s victory as Edo Governor, dismisses Ize-Iyamu’s petition

    BREAKING: S’Court affirms Obaseki’s victory as Edo Governor, dismisses Ize-Iyamu’s petition

    The Supreme Court on Monday affirmed Godwin Obaseki’s victory as the duly elected governor of Edo State.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP had launched a suit against Obaseki’s victory in last year’s gubernatorial election.

    Dismissing the appeal as lacking merit, the Supreme Court promised to release reasons for its judgement on July 24.

    On June 9, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate’s appeal at the Appeal Court in Benin City was dismissed by a five-man panel led by Justice M.B Dongban-Mensem.

    Ize-Iyamu challenged the outcome of the election, accusing Obaseki and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) of manipulating the process.

    The aggrieved PDP candidate claimed that the September 28 election was marked by corrupt practices, accusing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of not complying with the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act 2010.

    INEC, Obaseki and the APC were listed as first, second and third respondents respectively in the dismissed suit.

    He filed his suit with the appeal court after the state’s election petition tribunal upheld the results of the election in favour of Obaseki, who was sworn in on 12 November 2016.

     

  • Accept tribunal’s verdict in the spirit of sportsmanship, Oba Ewuare tells Ize-Iyamu

    The Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, on Saturday advised Mr Osagie Ize-Iyamu, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate to accept the verdict of the state Election Petitions Tribunal.

    The Oba declared ‘no victor no vanquished’ in the election, said the monarch’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr Desmond Agbama .

    A three-man Election Petition tribunal had on Friday dismissed Ize-Iyamu’s case and upheld the victory of Gov. Godwin Obaseki.

    Ize-Iyamu and his party, the PDP, had challenged the declaration by Independent National Electoral Commission of Obaseki of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner of the Sept 28 gubernatorial election.

    “In an election, there is no victor and no vanquished”, Oba Ewuare said.

    “Consequently, Osagie Ize-Iyamu should accept the decision of the tribunal in good faith and forge ahead in the task of providing democracy dividends for the people,” the Oba said.

    He congratulated Obaseki on his victory, and urged him to focus on sanitising the society, providing critical infrastructure and creating job opportunities for the teeming unemployment youths in the state.

    Oba Ewuare II also urged all stakeholders to support the administration in the task of moving Edo to higher heights.

    In Benin, the Oba’s statement is obeyed like the law. It remains to be seen, whether Ize-Iyamu, a son of the ancient kingdom will heed the advice.

    Justice Ahmed Badamasi who chaired a three member election tribunal, dismissed the petitions filed by Ize-Iyamu and the PDP as lacking in merit.

    Badamasi held that the petitioners failed on all fronts to prove the allegations as pleaded in their petitions.

    “The petitioners have failed to prove their case with credible evidence and is therefore dismissed,’’ he said.

    The tribunal held that while the petitioners abandoned some of their pleadings, “witnesses evidences were controverted under cross examination’’.

    “The much talked about ticking and over voting by the petitioners have not been specifically proven beyond reasonable doubt,” Justice Badamasi said.

    Ize-Iyamu said the verdict was unacceptable.

    Ize-Iyamu told party leaders and supporters at a forum attended by the state chairman, Chief Dan Orbih, that the judgment would be appealed at a higher court.

    “From the snippets I heard, the tribunal’s judgment cannot stand in the higher courts. This case must be pursued up to the Supreme Court, ” he said.
    NAN

  • JUST IN: Ize-Iyamu, PDP reject election tribunal ruling

    The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the September 28 election in Edo State, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, has rejected the ruling of the state governorship election petitions tribunal, which dismissed his petition challenging the declaration of Godwin Obaseki of the All Progressives Congress as winner of the poll.

    Ize-Iyamu also vowed to not only appeal the judgment but also pursue his case up to the Supreme Court.

    The tribunal had in a unanimous ruling read by the Chairman of the three-man panel, Justice Ahmed Badamasi, dismissed the petition for lack of merit and upheld the election of Obaseki.

    But Ize-Iyamu, who was absent at the tribunal on Friday, described the judgment as unacceptable.

    While addressing party members and supporters at his campaign office in Benin, he said, “From the snippets I heard of the tribunal judgement, it cannot stand in the higher courts.

    “This case must be pursued up to the Supreme Court.”

     

    Details soon…

  • BREAKING: Obaseki floors Ize-Iyamu, PDP at election petitions tribunal

    BREAKING: Obaseki floors Ize-Iyamu, PDP at election petitions tribunal

    The election petitions tribunal sitting in Benin, Edo State, on Friday affirmed the victory of Godwin Obaseki as the winner of the gubernatorial elections held on September 28, 2016.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and its candidate in the election, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, had challenged Obaseki’s election, alleging widespread irregularities.

    Obaseki, who ran on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, was declared the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

    The head of the tribunal, Ahmed Badamosi, at the sitting dismissed Mr. Ize-Iyamu’s petition.

    Details later…

  • Edo Poll: Appeal Court strikes out Ize-Iyamu’s appeal

    The Court of Appeal sitting in Benin, Edo State, on Friday dismissed an appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and its candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, challenging the discontinuation of the recounting of ballot papers used during the September 28 governorship election in four local government areas of the state.

    The PDP and Ize-Iyamu have approached the court to challenge Godwin Obaseki of the All Progressives Congress as winner of the election by the Independent ‎National Electoral Commission.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that INEC had declared Obaseki winner of the election with 319, 483 votes while Ize-Iyamu scored 253, 173 votes.

    The governorship election petitions tribunal, led by Justice Ahmed Badamasi, had on February 10 ordered the stoppage of the recounting exercise for Akoko-Edo, Egor, Etsako West and Etsako East Local Government Areas, following the expiration of the 14 days allotted the PDP and Ize-Iyamu, who were the petitioners, to prove their case.

    The petitioners had, through their counsel, Yusuf Alli (SAN), filed an appeal seeking an order to direct that the recounting of the used ballot papers for the identified LGAs be completed.

    However, in its verdict on Friday evening, the court held that the decision of the electoral tribunal was right as it was anchored on the provision of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended).

    Justice Mudashiru Nasiru, who read the ruling, held that the time allotted to each of the parties was sacrosanct and, therefore, limited the petitioners’ time to prove their case.

    He ruled that any action done outside the prescribed time would be a nullity and that the tribunal was right to stop the recounting of the ballot papers after the 14 days had elapsed.

    He said, “Whatever any party should do to prove its case must be done within the time produced by the schedule. Once a party commences, the time prescribed will start to run.”

    The appellate court, therefore, stated that the appeal was unmeritorious and thereby dismissed.

    “The two issues for determination are resolved against the appellants. The appeal is unmeritorious and lacked merit. It is hereby dismissed,” It added.