A/Ibom ex-Attorney-General faults relocation of election tribunal

Prosper

Mr. Uwemedimo Nwoko
A former Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice in Akwa Ibom, Mr. Uwemedimo Nwoko, has said that the movement of the state election petition tribunal to Abuja is unconstitutional, baseless and lacking any justification.

Nwoko said this in Uyo on Saturday when interacting with journalists. He noted that the movement of the tribunal to Abuja has a multiplier negative effect on the entire state.

He said that the PDP was not in a hurry due to the fact that whatever proceedings that ‘are conducted in Abuja, unless the tribunal comes back to Akwa Ibom, is a nullity and amounts to no issue’.

According to him, if one is to rely on the case of Ibori and Ogboru, the Court of Appeal held that an election petition tribunal created pursuant to section 285, subsections 2, must hold its sitting in the state where the election took place.

He declared that to move the election petition tribunal outside the territory of the state where the election was conducted was a violation of the constitution.

“The tribunal and the registry have all been moved to Abuja; they may be having their first sitting on Monday in Abuja.

“But one thing I want to tell you is that moving the election petition tribunal from Akwa Ibom to Abuja is unconstitutional, baseless, and without any justification.
Source: PUNCH