Diri’s deputy opens defence Friday in alleged certificate forgery trial
The Deputy Governor of Bayelsa state, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, will on Friday open his defence in an alleged certificate forgery petition filed against him by the governorship candidate of the Liberation Movement, Mr. Vijah Opuama at the Bayelsa state Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja.
Ewhrudjakpo who had waved his immunity, said he will defend himself at the tribunal where his nomination for the deputy governorship position is being challenged.
The tribunal presided over by Justice Ibrahim Sirajo, sitting in Abuja, fixed June 12 for the defence of the deputy governor after the petitioner formally closed his case on Tuesday.
The petitioner through his counsel, Mr. Pius Danba had rested his case after calling three out of 30 witnesses billed to testify against the nomination of Ewhrudjakpo for the November 16, 2019 governorship poll.
During the proceedings on Tuesday, the petitioner who testified as the third witness was confronted with anomalies in his own certificate by Ewhrudjakpo’s lawyer, Mr. Chukwuma-Machukwu Ume (SAN).
Ume, noted that the discrepancies in the documents that the petitioner presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in aid of his qualification indicated that the issue of alleged certificate forgery was nothing more than a mere human error that should not be taken as forgery.
Speaking with journalists shortly after the proceedings, Ume said that “the way the petitioner closed his case has shown that it is a small issue of human error, small slips does not amount to forgery and falsification.”
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Before the petitioner closed his case, he had last week withdrawn his prayer to subpoena the deputy governor to give evidence in the matter.
The petitioner had withdrawn the application on the grounds that he no longer needs Ewhrudjakpo to testify for him as a witness.
Opuama, is challenging Ewhrudjakpo’s qualification to stand in the Bayelsa state governorship election, on the grounds that the deputy governor submitted a forged exemption certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the election.
The tribunal had in a subpoena last week Tuesday, ordered the deputy governor to appear before it on Thursday, to produce the original copy of his disputed certificate, following an application to that effect by the petitioner.
Although, the deputy governor initially challenged the subpoena application through a motion, but however, changed his mind and presented himself in obedience to the order of the tribunal.
It would be recalled that the Department of State Services (DSS) one of the witnesses who testified on behalf of the petitioner had told the tribunal that the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) actually effected the change of name on the exemption certificate issued to Ewhrudjakpo.
The witness further told the tribunal that Ewhrudjakpo after noticing that there was a mistake in his name had asked the NYSC to make the necessary correction.
