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Plateau LG Tribunal: Witness says
Langtang North Council Chairman Amos Nanloh is an imposition
By Lovins Yakubu
March 13, 2019
Manasseh
N. Telzing told the Plateau State Local Government Election Petition Trial
Tribunal that Hon. Kparnim Nanloh Amos, the executive Chairman of Langtang
North Local Government Council was imposed on the people because according to
him, he did not win the election of October 10, 2018.
Telzing,
is a PW3 in a petition filed at the Tribunal by Ubandoma Laven of the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) challenging the declaration of Kparnin Nanloh Amos of the All
Progressive Congress (APC) as the Chairman of Langtang North Local Government
by the Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission (PLASIEC, the 3rd
defendant in the matter) in the October 10 2018 Local Government elections in
the state. The said petition was dismissed by the tribunal in January this year
but the Appellant tribunal upturned the decision of the lower tribunal by
upholding the four grounds of appeal by Ubandoma, the petitioner on the premise
of fair hearing and urged the lower tribunal to entertain the petition on that
basis.
When
hearings was about to commence today, counsels to 1st, 2nd
and 3rd Respondents M. G. Pwul, S.S. Obende and L. D. Dafer respectively
asked the tribunal to dismiss the petition stressing that the life span of the
tribunal had expired.
According
to Pwul, “the 90 days provided by the law expired on 27th January,
2019. By that, the honourable tribunal ends its existence”.
In
his response however, Ugwuala Counsel to the petitioner urged the tribunal to overrule the objection
saying that the tribunal has no life span. “This tribunal has no life span. The
life span of the tribunal is when you deliver judgment. The law did not say,
after 90 days you cease to exist” said Ugwuala.
According
to the counsel, the grounds of Appeal touches on fair hearing and going by the
provision of section 86(3), provides that if an appeal is allowed on ground of
fair hearing, the 90 days begins to run from the day of the appeal judgment.
“Your
honour, the entire four grounds of our appeal succeeded and in the
determination of the appellant tribunal, resolved that our right to fair
hearing was infringed upon. This case falls squarely on section 86(3) and the
90 days just begin, stressed Ugwuala.
Tribunal
Chairman, Binchen ruled in favour of the petitioner and hearing commenced.
Three
out of the eleven witnesses were taken today. Telzing, the 3rd
witness told the tribunal that he was the PDP returning ward agent of Pajat
ward, Langtang North Local Government comprising of nine polling units but that the said local government
election was conducted in 8 polling units.
Under
cross-examination, witness told counsel to 3rd Respondent that the
only authentic result he knew regarding Pajat ward was the one already admitted
in evidence by the tribunal.
According
to witness, the result announced by PLASIEC Chairman was not a reflection of
the people’s decision.
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| Premises of the Plateau State Election Petition Trial Tribunal, West of Mines Jos |
Witness
wondered where PLASIEC could have gotten the result which declared Amos Nanloh as
the winner of the election when PLASIEC’s returning officer was nowhere to be
seen that day at the local government collation centre. “The ideal thing is
that results ought to have been announced by the returning officers of the
electoral body at the ward and local government collation centres before
PLASIEC Chairman. But in the case of Langtang North, we went to the local
government collation centre with the results from Wards but the PLASIEC
returning officer was nowhere to be found and up till this moment, I don’t know
the person” said the witness.
Hearing
continues tomorrow.
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