BARRING last minute hitches, the Edo Election Petition Tribunal will Friday begin hearing on the petition filed by the People's Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the July 14 governorship election, Maj. Gen. Charles Airhiavbere (rtd).
The development followed the Court of Appeal ruling Thursday that the tribunal could hear the case about Governor Adams Oshiomhole's academic qualification.
The Court of Appeal sitting in Benin had in a unanimous judgement, ordered that the petition filled by Airhiavbere be remitted to the lower Tribunal "for trial denovo."
Chairman of the three-man panel, Justice Helen Ogunwumiju who read the judgement, ordered that the Acting President of the Court of Appeal reconstitute the tribunal to hear Airhiavbere's petition.
She said the tribunal was wrong to have said it lacked jurisdiction on Oshiomhole's academic qualification being a pre-election matter that should be heard by the conventional court.
The appellate court said by the provision of Section 177 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, the lower tribunal had jurisdiction to entertain Airhiavbere's petition bordering on Oshiomhole's qualification because the Court can hear pre-election and election matters on qualification.
The Appellate Court said it and the apex (Supreme) Court had always warned lower courts against dismissing election petitions on technical grounds without allowing parties to ventilate issues in their petitions on merit.
The court also held that the lower tribunal was wrong in striking out several paragraphs of Airhiavbere's pleadings on the issue of qualification, basing its decision on the grounds that the pleadings were scanty.
The court therefore restored the paragraphs and ordered that a new tribunal be set up by the Acting President of the Court of Appeal should try Airhiavbere's petition afresh on its merit.
Reacting to the judgement yesterday, Counsel to Airhiavbere, Sunday Agwinede, commended the Court and said the judgement would strengthen the pillars of democracy while counsel to Oshiomhole, Omoruyi Omonuwa (SAN) and Counsel to ACN, Ken Mozia (SAN), said they would study the judgment carefully before taking the next step.
