Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency: PDP Candidate Pleads Tribunal To Declare Him winner of 2019 Election.

Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency: PDP Candidate Pleads Tribunal To Declare Him winner of 2019 ElectionBy Moses GbandeThe Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for Jos North Bassa Federal Constituency in the February 23rd, 2019 election in Plateau State, Hon. Jonathan Dabo has appealed to the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal to order for his return as the true winner of the election.The Petitioners, Jonathan Dabo and the PDP are challenging the APC, and its candidate, Hon. Haruna Maitala and the INEC of need to fulfilling necessary electoral process and guide lines that saw the emergent of the Hon. Haruna Maitala as winner of the election.Both parties have demonstrated their Asenals in defense of their claims during the prehearing sessions to the final adoptions of written addresses.At the knock out state, Lead Counsel to the Petitioners, Barr. Sunday Oyewole, urged his Lordships dismisse all the claims of the respondents, especially that of 3rd Respondent, whose response, he claimed were only based on facts and not on points of law.According to Oyewale, “The essence of reply is not to argue but to reply on points of law, so I urge your Lordships to disregard their arguments.“Beside, the respondents couldn’t, in their arguments, lay a hand on any law to buttress their points and so were only talking on facts.“On elections of Feb. 23, there was a duly collected result, which was canceled by an officer who had no business with it all.“They are the people who know where the original result slip of Feb. 23 is, so they should provide it having agreed that all the results of all the polling units were collated.“Your Lordships should order them to produce the results and announce our client and Party ,PDP as winner of that election,” Oyewale insists.On his presentation, Hon. Haruna Maitala, through his counsel, Barr. Nantok Dashuwar, asked the Tribunal to dismiss Dabo’s petition for lack of merit.Dashuwar argued, “that since the elections of Feb. 23 was canceled by INEC following the disappearance of the original result sheet and a re-run was conducted in which the petitioners participated, they have no ground to challenge the victory of Haruna.”“ Since it’s obvious before this tribunal that original result slip was not found, where else do the petitioners expect your Lordship to find it and declare Dabo winner of the elections?“I urge your Lordships to disregard the arguments and reliefs sought by the petitioners and dismiss the petition for lack of merit, “ Dashuar pleaded.Also speaking , Barr. Heavens, Counsel to 1st Respondent, (INEC), urged the Tribunal to dismiss the petition for want of truth.On his part, Counsel to APC, the 3rd Respondent, Leo Ebi, also asked the Tribunal to dismiss the petition on the ground that the petitioners have failed to prove their case.After listening to their arguments, Tribunal sitting reserved judgement date and said that the day of the judgment would be communicated to the parties in due course.