By Nsan Ndoma-Neji, Calabar
The candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2023 governorship elections, Ntufam Prof. Sandy Ojang Onor, has closed his case, instituted against the election of the state governor Senator Prince Bassey Otu, at the election petition tribunal.
The PDP governorship candidate closed his case after calling four witnesses, including a London based immigration expert, Olusegun Thompson, to testify on the matter.
Speaking with journalists in Calabar yesterday, shortly after the sitting of tribunal came to end, counsel to the PDP candidate, Dr. Joseph Yusuf, stated that the decision to close their case is one of the best strategy that he and his team needed to adopt.
Yusuf said, “We called two additional witnesses for the petitioners and closed our case today.
“Our case is essentially on the qualification of the governor and the deputy governor.
“It’s all about strategy, we met and discovered that we should adopt this strategy as it is better and faster route for us and we are hopeful.”
Also speaking on the issue, counsel to the the All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate, Prof. Mike Ozekhome, who was represented by Kimasuade Edun, SAN, stated that he is holding brief for the lead counsel Prof. Ozekhome, adding that the petitioners have ten days to call their witnesses, but since they have decided to close their case, they need some time to gather their witnesses.
Earlier in the court, during the proceeding, the petitioners presented more documents to the tribunal to back up their claims.
Documents presented by the claimant include: British Nationality Act 1981, Citizenship Oath/Pledge, Home Office Form AN4 – Application for Naturalization as a British Citizen and the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act of 2002.
An expert on immigration law, Mr. Thompson, who was also one of the supboenaed gave his opinion on the alleged British citizenship of the third respondent adopted on oath.
During cross examination by counsel for the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, K.O. Balogun, claimed that under Section 42(2) of the British Naturalization Act, every qualified applicant must take the oath of allegiance before his certificate of British citizenship is issued.
Balogun stated that the third respondent had already informed that he has a waiver from taking the oath through his Form EC9, but to his knowledge nobody has ever been granted that waiver.
Speaking also, the fourth witness for the petitioners, Ikpi Ubana, who is the state legal adviser to the PDP, stated that the third respondent is still in the PDP and has not tendered any resignation.
Ubana stated that the third respondent did not file any application for exemption from signing the Oath of Allegiance.
He said, “Immediately you subscribe to the British citizenship, you swear to an oath of allegiance, but the third respondent has neither presented nor explained if he had a waiver.”
The tribunal chairman, Justice Oken Inneh, subsequently fixed 17 to 20 July, 2023, for the respondents to open and close their case.
