Andy Essiet, Calabar
The Federal High Court in Calabar has reserved October 24 for the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Senator Bassey Otu to know his fate ahead of 2023.
Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu on Thursday fixed the date to deliver its judgment in the case brought before it by Sen. John Owan-Enoh in suite number FHC/EA/CS/106/2022, challenging the governorship ticket of the APC in Cross River won by Sen Otu.
Before fixing the date for judgment and adjournment yesterday, the court made a ruling striking out an application from counsel to Sen. Owan-Enoh, Awa Kalu SAN to deploy a Subpoena process, which the Counsel to Sen. Prince Otu, Mike Ozekhome SAN vehemently opposed on points of law.
Kalu SAN withdraw his position upon failing to convince the court on the matter and the court thereafter gave the parties in the case, time to formally adopt their final brief of argument in the substantive issue before giving the date for judgment.
While Owan-Enoh wants the court to declare him, the governorship candidate of the APC in Cross River State in the event that his argument against the candidacy of Sen. Otu is upheld, the APC, who is the 1st respondent in the case has insisted that Sen. Otu is the authentic flag bearer of the party in the state.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) also maintained that Sen. Otu won the only Primaries the supervised in the state but insisted that they remain independent and will not want to take a side in the case.
Sen. Otu through his house also maintained his position that he was duly cleared by the APC to stand for the primary election having been found fit and unblemished. That he scored 877 votes while Owan-Enoh came a distant second with 84 votes.
Ozekhome argued that the 84 votes scored by Owan-Enoh before the law should amount to wasted votes because he had announced his withdrawal from the primary election and declared support for Sen. Otu but he suddenly had a second thought on the election day and said he will still stand the election. He prayed the court to dismiss the case and uphold the election of Sen. Otu.
