The lead counsel and supporters of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) were shocked yesterday at the ongoing Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal in Lafia when their star witness, Ayiwulu Baba Ayiwulu admitted that Governor Abdullahi Sule of the APC won the governorship election.
He also told the tribunal that his party, PDP inflated the results of the March 18 Governorship election in Nasarawa state, adding that the PDP candidate David Umbugadu, lost the election to Sule of the APC.
Ayiwulu told the tribunal that he served as PDP state collection agents and was privy to the deflation of the APC votes in favour of the PDP.
The prosecution witness made the confirmation when he appeared before the tribunal.
The revelation appeared shocking to the petitioner’s led counsel, Jibrin Samuel Okutepa SAN, and Umbugadu as well as the PDP state party Chairman, Francis Orogu and their supporters who were all in court.
Answering questions during Cross examinations by the respondents’ counsel, Adebayo Adelodu, SAN for Governor Sule, Ishaka Dikko, SAN for INEC and Mathew Burkah, SAN for the APC, Ayiwulu affirmed that his party, PDP inflated the results in Ashige, Ciroma and Gayam electoral wards all in Lafia LGA, as well as Abuni and Azara wards in Awe Local Government Area.
The PDP witness particularly revealed that APC scored 293 in Polling unit 022, but depleted the figure to 45 while PDP got 73 but he recorded 144, just as APC pulled 169 but recorded 167, as well as recorded 67 instead of 61 for PDP in form EC8 across Gayam, Ciroma, Kanje/Abuni, Azara and Ashige electoral wards attributing the anomaly human error.
Okutepa reluctantly applied to close his case, after he had tendered two additional documents produced by the state INEC Engineering and ICT department led by Godwin Udong Idiot.
The application to close his case was granted by the tribunal chairman, Justice Ezekiel Ajayi, who adjourned the hearing till August 18 for the respondents to open their defence.
INEC had declared Governor Sule of the APC winner of the March 18 Governorship election in Nasarawa state having polled 347,209 votes to defeat Umbugadu of the PDP with 283,016 votes.
Credit: The Nation
