Osun state Election Petition Tribunal on Monday adjourned sitting until Tuesday, October 4 for proper commencement of pre-hearing in the petition brought before it by Governor Adegboyega Oyetola and the APC.
The adjournment followed the decision of the tribunal to grant INEC, PDP and former Senator Ademola Adeleke 7 days to respond to the pre-hearing form served on them by the tribunal.
Governor Oyetola had faulted the declaration of former senator Ademola Adeleke as Governor-elect by the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
At the sitting of the tribunal on Monday, counsel for the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Kayode Olagoke (SAN), had informed the court of his readiness to continue with pre-hearing session, having filed his form TF008, where issues for determination were raised.
On the request of the tribunal for advice, Olagoke had suggested that the matter should be stood down for a few hours in order that the respondents could also respond to the tribunal’s pre-hearing form.
Counsel for INEC, Paul Ananaba (SAN) however pleaded with the Tribunal to give him seven days to respond to the pre-hearing form having just got served at the tribunal sittings venue.
Team@orientactualmags.com learned Counsel for Adeleke, Bamidele Abolarin, and the counsel representing the PDP, Nathaniel Oke (SAN), also asked the tribunal to give them the required seven days to respond.
Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Tertsea Kume, who was joined by other members of the tribunal ; Justices Benedict Amaugbe and Bashiru Rabi, later adjourned the matter until Tuesday, October 4 for proper commencement of hearing.
Addressing journalists after the sitting, Professor Olagoke said the adjournment was not out of place adding that the tribunal has the power to abridge the days required for any of the parties to respond.
‘We were supposed to commence the Pre-hearing session this morning but unfortunately the respondents said they were served with the pre-hearing notice this morning.
Form TF007 will inform the parties, while TF008 is the one they are going to respond to. But they said they served them this morning and for that, they have to respond. But election petition being too sui generis and time sensitive, that is why we were suggesting we could take a stand down for them to fill out the forms so that we come back for pre-hearing in the afternoon. But they insisted on having their right.
But in order to be fair to them, that was why the tribunal adjourned until next week for them to take their time, fill out the form and come back for the pre-hearing session’ he said- Team@orientactualmags.com
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