The reconstituted Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Makurdi, Benue State, has again adjourned its sitting till Thursday for final ruling on the petition by the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Prof. Steven Ugbah, against Governor Gabriel Suswam of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The tribunal had at its first sitting adjourned till December 5 to hear afresh on merit, the applications by the Ugba and Governor Suswam.
But in its sitting, yesterday, lawyer to Governor Suswam, Mr. Damian Dodo (SAN),in an application dated November 18, 2011 urged the tribunal to terminate the petition claiming that the 180 days stipulated by law for tribunal to hear the case had since elapsed.
He said that hearing the petition was contrary to section 285(7) of the 1999 Constitution.
But the Lawyer to the petitioner, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), argued vehemently that the Supreme Court had earlier ordered that the reconstituted tribunal should hear the petition afresh and on merit.
He insisted that the tribunal must depend largely on the decision of the appellate court in continuation of hearing on the petition and urged the tribunal to go ahead with the case in the interest of law and justice.