Cokoye

The Edo State election petitions tribunal in Benin has granted a motion exparte to the Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, to inspect all materials used in the conduct of the September 28 governorship election in the state.

The three-man panel of judges, led by Justice A. T . Badamasi, granted the PDP and its candidate the motion to inspect the electoral materials on Tuesday.Other members of the panel are Justice E. A. Adesodun and Justice Khadi Usman.

The Independent National Electoral Commission had declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Godwin Obaseki, winner of the poll.

Counsel for the PDP, Kingsley Obamogie, explained that the application to assess the materials was in line with Section 151 of the Electoral Act, 2010, as amended.

Obamogie also noted that the section empowered the party to institute a motion exparte to pray the tribunal to inspect all the electoral materials used for the September 28 poll.

After studying the motion, the judges, therefore, ordered INEC to make available all the electoral materials used for the poll.

It was gathered that the tribunal had yet to receive any petition from any of the aggrieved political parties and their respective candidates.

It was, however, learnt that the affected parties and candidates had 21 days within which to file their petitions, from the date the election was held.

Source: http://nigerianewstoday.com.ng/edo-election-tribunal-grants-pdp-order-to-inspect-electoral-materials/