Imo Gov Poll: Tribunal Admits Uzodimma’s WAEC Certificate In Evidence
The Imo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja, on Thursday, admitted in evidence, the West African Examinations Council, WAEC, certificate of Governor Hope Uzodimma.
The tribunal had subpoenaed the examination body to produce the certificate, as well as the certified true copy of governor Uzodinma’s statement of result.
The Head of Administration at WAEC Headquarters, Mr. Omifenwa Tajudeen Tunbosu, tendered the two documents which bore the name, Uzodimma Goodhope Odidika.
The WAEC General Certificate of Education, with certificate No. SG 904497, was issued to the Imo state governor in June 1982.
The second exhibit was CTC of governor Uzodimma’s confirmation of statement of result dated December 18, 2014, which was earlier forwarded to the office of the Senate President by WAEC, and delivered on January 7, 2015.
In his oral testimony, Tunbosu, told the tribunal that governor Uzodimma is owner of the WAEC certificate, even as he confirmed it to be authentic and genuine.
In its ruling, the Justice Oluyemi Akintan-Osadebay-led three-member panel admitted the documents in evidence.
It will be recalled that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had declared that governor Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress, APC, polled a total of 540,308 votes to defeat his closest challenger, Senator Samuel, Anyanwu of the PDP who scored 71,503 votes.
Dissatisfied with the outcome of the poll, the PDP and its candidate approached the tribunal to challenge it.
They are among other things, praying the tribunal to withdraw the Certificate of Return that was issued to governor Uzodinma as the winner of the election.
The petitioners, among other things, alleged that governor Uzodimma submitted forged WAEC certificate to INEC in aid of his qualification to contest the gubernatorial poll.
The petitioners further persuaded the tribunal to issue a subpoena to compel INEC to produce and tender some of the materials used for the election
Among documents they requested for, included, the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, mahines, certified copies of screen shots of information contained in the BAVS Machines, INEC’s Forms 40G as well as certified copies of the voters registers.
