The last may not have been heard concerning the Warri, Delta State election that brought in the embattled President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick, as the Elections Appeals Committee has vowed to annul the election if it discovers irregularities against the electoral guidelines.
The Chairman of the Appeal Committee, Barrister Okey Ajunwa, who stated this on Wednesday while briefing journalists after the inaugural sitting in Abuja, said the committee has so far received four petitions on the general conduct of the September 30 elections in Warri.
Assuring that his committee will be fair to all parties, the committee chairman said: “We have received four petitions on the conduct of the elections in Warri.
“We have been debating on petitions since the morning (yesterday) and we found out that the respondents are not even aware of the petitions.
“What we have decided to do is that the petitions will be copied to the various respondents to enable them respond adequately to the petitions.
“We are going to do an open sitting because everybody is involved in football.
“Our sitting will be open and transparent for everybody to see what we are going do.
“We are going to invite everybody that the allegations are made against and they will respond accordingly.
“They can respond through their lawyers and they can also come to defend their case themselves.
“But you cannot come to say different things from what you have written to us.
“You will come to state your case and the prayers you are asking us to grant you.”
Asked if he will get courage to nullify the elections if he discovers that the elections were marred irregularities, Ajunwa thundered: “The laws are there.
“It is the interpretation of the elections of the rules that we are doing.
“If I don’t have the gut to deliver correct ruling why will I be here looking at the cases.
“I will do this job to the best of my knowledge.
“I am a legal practitioner.
“If the rules said this is what should be done and it was not followed, the elections will be cancelled.”
The committee has however adjourned sitting to November 12 and 13, 2014 to enable it serve the respondents copies of the petitions.