The Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate in the April 11, 2015 governorship election in Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, and the Independent National Electoral Commission, on Friday asked the state Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abuja to dismiss the petition filed by the All Progressive Party and its candidate in the poll, Dr. Dakuku Peterside.

Wike and INEC predicated their prayer for the dismissal of the petition on the petitioners’ failure to pay a fee of N100 for the filing for the issuance of pre-hearing notice, Form TF007.

But counsel for Peterside and the APC, who are through their petition, challenging the declaration of Wike as the winner of the April 11 poll, Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN), asked the Justice Muazu Pindiga-led tribunal to dismiss the respondents’ application for lacking in merit.

Olujinmi insisted that since the application for the pre-hearing notice was by a letter to the Secretary to the tribunal, his clients were not liable to pay for filing fee as such was not specifically provided for in any law.

He maintained that Paragraph 2 of the TF007 only made provision for the submission of the form and not filing which would have warranted payment of filing fee.
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He added that even if his clients were required to pay the fee, failure to do so could only amount to a mere irregularity which the tribunal could direct them to pay at any time.

He also maintained that his clients, like other pa‎rties to the petition, had made a deopsit of N500,000 security fund to the tribunal, so the tribunal could easily deduct N100 from the said money if it was a must that the N100 fee be paid.

‎Olujinmi, a former Attorney-General of the Federation added, “It is now settled that a petitioner can start a pre-hearing session by oral application. If ‎I’m passing by, I can just ask the Secretary to the tribunal to issue Form TF 007. So am I going to pay for the voice?”

He urged the tribunal not to allow the justice of the petition to be defeated by mere technicality which the respondents’ applications were predicated.

Through their respective lawyers, Wike and INEC had argued that the failure of the petitioners to pay the fee constituted an infringement on provisions of Paragraphs 18(1), (3) and 47 of the 1st Schedule to the Electoral Act as amended.

They argued that the non-compliance with the statutory provisions implied that the petition had been abandoned because the jurisdiction of the tribunal to entertain the petition could not be evoked without the payment of the prescribed fees.
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‎Wike’s lawyer, Mr. Emmanuel Ukala (SAN), urged the tribunal to be persuaded by a ruling delivered by the Imo State Governorship Elections Petition Tribunal in Owerri on July 22, 2015, dismissing the petition filed by the PDP’s governorship candidate in the state, Emeka Ihedioha, on the grounds of the petitioner’s failure to pay the N100 fee for the filing of the pre-hearing notice.

Ihedioha’s petition was challenging the victory of the Governor Rochas Okorocha of the APC who was declared winner of the April 11 poll in Imo State.

Ukala also urged the Rivers State tribunal to uphold its previous rulings in which it affirmed “the seriousness of the statutory provision with regards to filing of application for pre-hearing notice.”

“Failure to propery apply for pre-hearing notice renders the petition abandoned and liable to be dismissed,” he said.

INEC’s lawyer, Chief‎ K. C Njamanze (SAN), who also canvassed the same argument, said the payment of the fee was a condition precedent for the tribunal to assume jurisdiction on the petition.

Njamanze said, “It is our submission that payment of filing fee for such application is statutory and constitutes condition precedent for the invocation of the jurisdiction of this honourable tribunal.

“In the circumstance, my Lords, in law, there is no application for issuance of Form ‎ TF007 and we urge in the circumstance to dismiss this petition.”

‎PDP’s counsel, F. O Orbih (SAN), adopted the arguments canvassed by the lawyers to Wike and INEC.

‎The respondents’ lawyers also insisted in their replies on points of law that non-payment of the fee was “not a mere irregularity” and that the Election Petition Tribunal Practice Direction 2011 provided for the payment of N100 for the filing of exhibit or “any other document”.

Ukala also said that since the security fund was meant for a specific purpose, money could not be deducted from it to pay for default of paying filing fees.

The tribunal adjourned till Monday for its ruling on the applications.

http://www.punchng.com/news/wike-wants-petersides-petition-dismissed-over-n100-fee-default/

Yes . . . . atleast, the courts will spend another two weeks to decide that one

And I dnt like some one to take to me in bad

...."‎Wike’s lawyer, Mr. Emmanuel Ukala (SAN), urged the tribunal to be persuaded by a ruling delivered by the Imo State Governorship Elections Petition Tribunal in Owerri on July 22, 2015, dismissing the petition filed by the PDP’s governorship candidate in the state, Emeka Ihedioha, on the grounds of the petitioner’s failure to pay the N100 fee for the filing of the pre-hearing notice......"

Seems there's a very recent precedent to the veracity of this pls

And they will say buhari is a dictator

Yes a judicial precedent had been set in IMO where the tribunal dismissed the petition of the PDP guber candidate, Ihedioha against Okorocha of APC.

So the cooking pot for the chameleon is that of the lizard.

Case dismiss

Wine and his party so afraid they lose at election tribunal which has made to bring up all sorts of distractions in other to delay the whole process. Just like as former gov Amaechi told GEJ and the PDP that shifting the general election from February 14 to March 28 will not save him in power. Likening it to a dead person taken to the mortuary, and also announcing the burial date but later shifted the date cannot wake the person up again. This is the case of Wike. Wike knows election will be canceled bin R/S

its is not new, APC is also trying to remove some PDP governors on grounds that their primaries were not properly done.


wetin concern APC with PdP primaries