Hearing in theappeal filed bythe Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) challenging the decision of the Presidential Tribunal, which upheld the victory of President Goodluck Jonathan in the April general election could not go on at the Supreme Court as earlier slated due to the non-constitution of the panel that will sit on the matter.When the matter was called on Thursday, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, who heads the panel of five judges told the court before counsels could announce their appearances that the matter would not hold because the panel that would sit on the matter had not been constituted by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).While apologising to the parties, he informed the court that the CJN was not around and as soon as he came back, the panel would be set up and a new a date would be communicated to the parties.Counsel for CPC, Dipo Okpeseyi, urged the court to be mindful of the 60 days which the Electoral Act has provided for the hearing and determination of the appeal so that the party would not be caught outside the specified days.Responding, Justice Mahmud said that the court would take note of it and do everything within its reach to make sure that the appeal was heard and determined before the expiration of the 60 days.The CPC had on November 11, filed a notice of appeal at the Registry of the Court of Appeal, while on November 28, it filed its appellant brief of argument where it argued that, the trial tribunal erred in law when it rejected documents required to prove multiple thumb printing, non-distribution of electoral materials, the accredited number of voters and the actual number of voters that voted in the disputed election.The party, therefore, asked the apex court to make an order directing the president of the Court of Appeal to direct another panel to entertain and determine the petition by way of a retrial.CPC noted that the judges erred in law when they lumped together evidence of respondents' witnesses, who they acknowledged as different sets of respondents and thereby occasioned miscarriage of justice.They similarly said the panel of justices misdirected themselves when they held that the mere assertion of the petitioner that the election was flawed would not shift the burden of disproving the assertions on the respondents and that the onus lied on the appellant to prove non-compliance.It will be recalled that the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal on November 1 held that the election was free and fair and dismissed CPC's petition in its entirety for lacking both merit and substance.The tribunal, in a unanimous judgment held that President Jonathan was validly elected having secured two thirds (22, 471, 370) of the lawful votes cast during the election.The chairman of the panel, Justice K.B Akaahs had said CPC failed to discharge its burden of proof even on the balance of probability adding that the party did not prove that non compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act affected the election result in any way.CPC had in its petition sought a declaration that President Jonathan and his Vice were not duly elected in Kaduna, Sokoto, Nasarawa, Kwara, Adamawa, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Enugu, Cross River, Rivers, Ebonyi, Bayelsa, Delta, Imo, Anambra, Benue, Lagos, Plateau and the FCT.The party asked the tribunal to hold that the results declared by INEC on April 18 by which President Jonathan returned to power, is wrongful and unlawful.They similarly sought a declaration that the election did not produce a winner as contemplated by the provisions of the 1999 constitution. They asked the tribunal to order INEC to organize fresh elections between its candidate, retired General Muhammadu Buhari and the President.But the tribunal, in its judgment said CPC failed to prove that President Jonathan's victory was based on corruption, and that the party had nothing on which to consider the challenge of the votes secured by the President and his vice.
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