The Enugu state governorship election tribunal has dismissed the allegation of Edeoga/LP that Governor Peter Mbah’s NYSC discharge certificate was forged. The tribunal holds that Dr Peter Mbah did not submit his NYSC certificate to INEC in aid of his qualification to contest for the office of governor since he was already qualified without an NYSC certificate.
The tribunal rejected Edeoga’s witnesses and ruled that the LP governorship candidate did not present any admissible evidence to prove that Mbah’s certificate was forged. Following a more detailed report, it says that, the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Enugu has dismissed the NYSC certificate forgery suit brought by the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and the Labour Party against Gov. Peter Mbah.
The three-man tribunal, chaired by Justice Kudirat Akano, said there was no evidence before it to support the petitioners’ claim that a forged certificate was submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Mr. Chris Agu of the PRP and Chijioke Edeoga of the LP had separately filed suits against Mbah challenging his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate on the grounds of it being forged.
The petitioners had alleged among others that Mbah was not qualified to contest the election and was not lawfully elected. According to the tribunal, section 177 of the 1999 constitution is not a requirement for contesting governorship elections. The tribunal rejected Edeoga’s witnesses and ruled that the LP candidate did not present any admissible evidence to prove that Mbah’s certificate was forged.
On PRP’s petition, Akano said that the issue was not contained in the petitioner’s affidavit, stating that to prove forgery, both the original and the supposedly forged certificate ought to have been exhibited before the tribunal. The tribunal held that the petitioner failed to prove that the respondent possessed the minimum requirements to stand for the election including a school certificate or its equivalent. It said, therefore, there was no evidence to substantiate the claims adding that Mbah was not qualified to stand for the election.
On the issue of the plea bargain by Mbah, the tribunal averred that the exhibit presented by the petitioners did not show any plea bargain by the respondent.
Source: Happening Now
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