Posted by The Anambra State Judiciary Complex’s lack of energy has caused the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal in the state to begin a protracted delay.
During an adjournment, Panel 1 of the tribunal, which is presided over by Hon. Justice L. O. Ogundana, allegedly declined a defendant’s request from a lawyer to make available a significant amount of fuel to power the generating set in the courthouse.
The lengthy adjournment was caused by the courtroom’s lack of electricity, which prevented the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) attorney from playing a video tape he had introduced.
Ogundana presided over a petition with the reference number EPT/AN/SEN/05/2023, which was presented to the three-person panel by Hon. Dozie Nwankwo, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) senatorial candidate for Anambra Central, opposing Chief Victor Umeh, the Labour Party candidate, in the 2023 election.
The panel’s chairman, Justice Ogundana, graciously rebuffed Chief Alex Ejesieme’s (SAN) previous offer to contribute a significant amount of diesel for the court complex generating set, stating he didn’t want petitions floating about against the panel over such a gesture.
Ogundana, who later moved for an adjournment to Saturday, July 8, and Sunday, July 9, 2023, bemoaned how uncomfortable the courtroom was and expressed the panel’s hope that by the next postponed date, the complex’s electricity supply would have been restored.
He claimed that the environment in the courtroom was very different from what he had encountered in Edo State, where he claimed that there was a constant supply of electricity and that all of the air conditioners were in good working order.
Ejesieme (SAN) promised that he will bring the issue before the chief judge of Anambra State right after the session, nonetheless.
Nwankwo of the APGA and Princess Helen Mbakwe, a lawyer and candidate for the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), are challenging Umeh, the victor of the national assembly election held on February 25 in the Anambra Central senatorial zone.