The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Governor Nyesome Wike of Rivers State and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have asked the state’s Governorship Election Tribunal to dismiss the petition by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last governorship election, Dakuku Peterside, and his party.
INEC, Wike and PDP argued that the petitioners failed to comply with the provision of Paragraph 18(1) of the First Schedule of the Electoral Act 2010 by not paying the stipulated fee of N100 for their application for the issuance of pre-hearing notices (Form TF 007) to parties.
They contended that by not paying the fee, the petitioners were yet to ignite the tribunal’s jurisdiction and are deemed to have abandoned their petition and it should be dismissed.
Lawyer to INEC, K. C. O. Njemanze (SAN), while moving his client’s motion, challenging the court’s jurisdiction, said the payment of filing fee for the application for pre-hearing notice was statutory and constitutional and constituted a condition precedent for the invocation of the jurisdiction of the tribunal to hear the petition.
Wike’s lawyer, Emmanual Ukala (SAN), who made a similar argument urged the tribunal to adopt the decision of the Imo State Governorship Election Tribunal which dismissed the petition by Emeka Ihedioha of the PDP on a similar ground.
He argued that the payment of filing fee was mandatory and was a condition precedent to the tribunal exercising its jurisdiction to hear the petition.
Lawyer to INEC, F. O. Orbih (SAN), adopted the arguments by Njemanze and Ukala and urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition.
Petitioners’ lawyer, Akin Olujinmi (SAN) argued that the requirement for the payment of N100 filing fee did not apply to application for pre-hearing notices, which he said, the party applying could make orally.
Olujinmi insisted that since the application for the pre-hearing notice was by a letter to the Secretary to the tribunal, his clients were not liable to pay a filing fee as such was not specifically provided for in any law.
He argued that Paragraph 2 of the TF007 only made provision for the submission of the form and not filing which would have warranted payment of a filing fee.
Olujinmi contended that even if his clients were required to pay the fee, failure to do so could only amount to a mere irregularity which the tribunal could direct them to pay at any time.
He further argued that his clients, like other parties to the petition, had made a deopsit of N500,000 security funds to the tribunal, so the tribunal could easily deduct N100 from the said money, if it was a must that the N100 fee must be paid.
Olujinmi said: “It is now settled that a petitioner can start a pre-hearing session by oral application. If I’m passing by, I can just ask the Secretary to the tribunal to issue Form TF 007. So am I going to pay for the voice?”
He urged the tribunal not to allow the justice of the petition to be defeated by mere technicality which the respondents’ applications were predicated.
Olujinmi prayed the tribunal to dismiss the defendants’ motions and proceed to hear the petition, challenging the outcome of the April 11 governorship election in Rivers State.
The Justice Muazu Pindiga-led tribunal has fixed Monday for ruling.Nation
