By Monday Osayande, Asaba
The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Asaba, Delta State, has ordered a substituted service on Delta State’s governor-elect, under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sheriff Oborevwori, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate, Great Ogboru and Labour Party (LP) candidate, Ken Pela.
The substituted service on the respondents followed their refusal to receive petitions challenging their eligibility to contest the just concluded March 18 governorship election in the state.
The tribunal, in petition No, EPT/DL/GOV/02/2023, thus, granted that the defendants be served these petitions (substituted service) on the notice board of the tribunal.
The notice, however, has been pasted on the notice board of the tribunal in Asaba, the state capital.
The order of the tribunal followed an ex parte application moved by the petitioner’s counsel, Chris Uche.
Uche specifically sought leave of the tribunal to serve the notice of substituted service on the notice board of the tribunal by substituted means after all efforts to serve them directly failed.
He said: “The world over, criminals are beginning to find ways to hide, and Delta has taken a queue as citizens of the state, who have been wondering, in the last 30 years of democratic experiment, why their case has been one of deceit, tenacity lies and backwardness.
“The tribunal, this morning, granted the governorship candidate of Social Democratic Party (SDP), Olorogun Gbagi, substituted service.
“What has played out is that, in the last nine or 10 days, efforts to serve these petition on runaway faceless candidates have been futile, considering that they have been hiding.
“They have come up with various excuses as some of them are abroad and some have disappeared into thin air.
“The tribunal, faced with time issue, has, today, granted the application, asking that these characters be served these petitions on the notice board of the tribunal.
“By this arrangement, the trial has begun, in earnest, for them to show cause that those evidences, as contained in those petitions, are to the contrary.”
Source: The Guardian
