Akpabio, Udoedehe resume legal battle in Uyo Jan. 10

The legal battle for the occupation of the Hill Top Mansion will resume at the reconstituted Governorship election tribunal in Uyo on January 10, 2012. The Supreme Court had earlier ordered that the governorship election petition filed by the Action Congress of Nigeria’s governorship candidate at the election, challenging the declaration of Chief Godswill Akpabio, the PDP candidate at the election, as the elected governor of Akwa Ibom state.
The trial tribunal had earlier struck out the petition citing non compliance with the provision for pre-hearing in accordance with the 2010, Electoral Act. The Court of Appeal, Calabar Division was to later strike out the appeal filed by John Akpanudoedehe challenging the ruling of the trial tribunal. Not satisfied with the judgement of the court of appeal on his appeal, Akpanudoedehe headed to the supreme court for a proper interpretation of the relevant portions of the Electoral Act, concerning the activation of pre-trials.
The Supreme Court in a unanimous decision, held that the matter be returned to a new tribunal to be constituted for retrial. The court insisted that the matter should be heard on its merit, saying that even an oral application could suffice for a pre-hearing notice. The apex court presided over by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Dahiru Musdapher, ordered that the petition should be heard de novo by a fresh tribunal.
Since the Supreme Court returned the matter for re-trial, there had been no major move in that direction till last week, when the Acting President of the Court of Appeal constituted another three-man panel to hear the CAN petition on its merit. The matter has since been slated for January 10, 2012 for commencement of legal fireworks. The petitioners will then be expected to prove to the tribunal that the Independent Electoral Commission was wrong to have returned the incumbent governor as the validly elected governor at the April 26, 2011 governorship election in the state.