AT THE ELECTIONS TRIBUNAL, SIR COLLYNS OWHONDA VS HON BLESSING CHARLES NSIEGBE; YES, OUR PETITION WAS ERRONEOUSLY STRUCK OUT: The truth is.
The petition filed by Sir Collyns Owhonda at the election tribunal in Abuja was yesterday struck out for not been filed within the stipulated 21 days as erroneously concluded by the learned justices.
I am not trying to gather sympathy though, but the petrifying truth is, Sir Collyns Owhonda indeed filed his petition within the ambit of 21 days. It is a well known fact that, the result of Port Harcourt Federal Constituency 2 was officially announced on the 20th March 2016 due to INEC's refusal to announce the result of Ward 10 where Sir Collyns Owhonda pulled majority votes.
After the announcement of the constituency result and the subsequent declaration of Hon. Blessing Charles Nsiegbe by INEC on the 20th March 2016. Sir Collyns Owhonda filed a petition at the election tribunal on the *9th of April 2016* with attached certified true copy of the constituency result stamped, signed on the *20th of March 2016*.
During arguments by lead counsels, our legal team presented a motion countering PDP's motion of, "the court lacking jurisdiction" to hear the petition on the grounds that we did not file within 21 days as allowed by electoral law. The two motions were adopted but, the *key point*, which was *computation of days from the 20th of March to 9th April 2016* was over sighted.
On the day of the ruling on motions filed by both parties, our legal team drew the attention of the learned justices to a counter motion sorting the leave of the court to exempt our petition from, the outside 21 days contest. Pointing out that, our petition *ought to have been listed for hearing*, having obtained the leave of the tribunal to proceed during the pre-hearing ruling.
The learned justices refused the plea of our legal team for reasons best known to them. This singular action gave raise to the monumental judicial error witnessed on the 24th of August 2016.
I want to state that, the peculiarity of this erroneous ruling shall be heard again in the appeal court where records shall be straightened for the purposes of deserved justice. Then we will come back before the learned justices to commence hearing on the substantive petition.
There is no shame attached, the recovery of our mandate is still on course and achievable.
I still stand with APC and Sir Collyns Owhonda till justice is achieved.
~ Written by Rowland Orlu
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