Female politician accuses tribunal chairman of bias

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) House of Representatives candidate for Shomolu Federal Constituency at the March 28, 2015 National Assembly elections, Ms Tolu Ebun, has alleged unnecessary delays designed to ensure that the period of 180 days required by the Constitution for the conclusion of her petition at the tribunal elapses before the substantive matter is heard.

Ebun’s petition, which she submitted to the National Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Lagos, challenges the declaration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Oyewole Olufemi Diya of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is the winner of the constituency.

According to Ebun: “There are attempts by the APC to use members of the judiciary to scuttle my petition by unnecessary delay due in part to changes in the constitution of the panel. The first Chairperson of the tribunal panel was Mrs. C. N. Anwuka of the Imo State Customary court who was appointed in clear violation of the provisions of Section 285(3) & the 6th Schedule of the Constitution which provide for the establishment of the panel and stipulate that the Chairman of the Panel has to be a Judge of the High Court.”

Anwuka was replaced with Justice Raheem Siyanbola of the Osun State High Court, but Ebun says that “since he commenced sitting, Justice Siyanbola has been very biased and partisan. He openly makes comments that reveal this bias and has severally stepped into the arena in a manner unbecoming of the impartial arbiter that he ought to be. It has gotten so bad that I have had to write a petition to the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, about his conduct.”