Kwara: Governorship tribunal begins sitting in Ilorin, warns against fraudulents agents


Kwara State Governorship and State Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal sitting in Ilorin, Thursday held its inaugural session with a warning to all learned counsels and parties to be weary of persons who might be parading themselves as agents for fraudulent purposes.

The tribunal chairman, Justice Bassey Efiong, handed down the warning in his address at the inaugural sitting held at the premises of state high court complex Ilorin.
“If any person or group come to tell you that he or she is our agents for fraudulent purposes , please don’t believe it for we don’t have such agents”, he said.
The tribunal chairman who announced the names of other members as Justice Ngozi Okoaisabol and Justice Mariyam Ismail said: “we shall do our work without any form of biase”.


He said the assignment was “time specific” assuring that the tribunal will complete it’s work on the petition filed before it within the time lag.

Justice Effiong charged learned counsels to be ready to work within the time frame allowed for the tribunal to complete it assignment 

The tribunal latter rise to observe 10 minites break after entertaining application by cousels seeking the tribunal’s leave to serve the 1st and 2nd respondents through a “substituted means .”
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the just concluded governorship election in the state, AbdulRasaq Atunwa ,are challenging the qualification of governor-elect, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to contest the March 9 governorship election

In an experte-application ,Counsel to the petitioner ,Abdulwahab Bamidele who held brief for Paul Isokoro , (SAN) had sort the tribunal’s leave to serve the 1st and 2nd respondents through “substituted means “.
He asked the tribunal for a leave to enable him serve the respondents with the “petitions and processes on the tribunal’s notice board within the premises of the state high court complex Ilorin, his last known address at No 1 ,Abdulkadir road GRA ,Ilorin and  APC’S Secretariat at Asa Road,GRA ,Ilorin.
Similar experte- motion was filled by counsel to Action Alliance, A ,A Ibrahim who is also challenging the qualification of the governor elect.
In his ruling on the applications, the tribunal’s chairman said the tribunal “acknowledged” that the purpose of the application was to bring to the notices of the respondents the “pendency” of petitions before the tribunal for which they were granted.
He therefore adjourned the sitting till April 15,2019 for hearing..

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