The governor of Enugu State, Peter Mbah, is scheduled to make an appearance today before the Enugu State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that this development comes in response to an order issued by the tribunal on Thursday, requesting Mbah’s presence to address allegations of forging his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate.
The order followed an application submitted by the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), represented by their counsel, Mr. Alex Amujiogo.
Mbah, who was declared the winner of the governorship election held on March 18, faces mounting challenges from the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Chijioke Edeoga, and the PRP candidate, Elder Christopher Agu. Both candidates have raised concerns over Mbah’s alleged forgery of the NYSC certificate that he presented to the electoral commission.
Agu, in a petition filed before the tribunal, asserts that Mbah was ineligible to participate in the election due to the alleged forgery of his NYSC discharge certificate.
During the resumed hearing on Thursday, the PRP’s counsel, Amujiogo, informed the tribunal that Mbah was expected to be present in court as a subpoenaed witness. However, the bailiff of the tribunal encountered difficulties while attempting to serve Mbah with the summons, as stated in an affidavit.
Amujiogo subsequently submitted an application requesting the tribunal to allow a substituted service of the summons on Mbah through his counsel.
Although the three respondents—the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mbah himself, and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)—opposed the application, arguing that it should have been presented as a motion supported by an affidavit during the pre-trial session, the tribunal overruled their objections.
Consequently, Justice K. M. Akano, the Chairman of the Panel, ordered that the subpoena be served on Mbah through his counsel, mandating his appearance before the tribunal on Friday, June 23, 2023.
