Alleged certificate forgery: Tribunal orders Bayelsa deputy governor to appear Thursday

The Bayelsa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal on Tuesday ordered the state’s deputy governor, Senator Lawrence Oborawharievwo Ewhrudjakpo to appear before it on Thursday to produce the original copy of his disputed certificate.

The order of the Tribunal followed a subpoena earlier issued on Ewhrudjakpo to appear and produce the original of the exemption certificate issued to him by the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in 1998.

The subpoena was issued on the request by the candidate of the Liberation Movement (LM) in the November 16, 2019 governorship election in Bayelsa, Vijah Opuama, who is challenging Ewhrudjakpo’s qualification to stand election, alleging that the deputy governor submitted a forged exemption certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the election.

Although Ewhrudjakpo had, by a motion filed at the Tribunal on May 17, 2020, challenged the competence of the subpoena and prayed the Tribunal to set it aside.

But, Chukwuma Machukwu Ume (SAN), counsel to the deputy governor changed his mind yesterday and applied to withdraw the motion, saying that his client was no longer challenging the subpoena and was ready to attend the Tribunal’s sitting.

Counsel to the petitioner, Pius Dande Pius, and lawyer to other parties in the matter did not object to the application to withdraw the motion, challenging the subpoena.

In his ruling, the Tribunal’s chairman, Justice Ibrahim Sirajo struck out the motion and ordered Ewhrudjakpo’s appearance on Thursday, the 4th of June, 2020.

The Tribunal rejected the request that Ewhrudjakpo be allowed to appear next week on the grounds that since Bayelsa State does not have an airport, it would be difficult for the deputy governor to travel in view of the lockdown.

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