THE Supreme Court Friday overturned the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Benin Division which ordered that a fresh tribunal be constituted to determine whether the Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole had requisite qualification to run for governorship and even occupy the Government House.

In a judgment delivered by Justice Bode Rhodes - Vivour, the apex Court held that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Major General Charles Airhiavbere (rtd) did not specifically plead the issue of his qualification.

In a unanimous decision, the court agreed with the submission of Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) who had pleaded with it to uphold the appeal.

The governorship election tribunal had rejected a plea to reconsider the allegation that Oshiomhole did not possess the qualification to contest as governor. However, the Court of Appeal set-aside the tribunal judgment.

But in the verdict of the apex court, it ordered the parties to go back to the tribunal and determine the allegation of irregularities.

It would be recalled that the Court of Appeal in Benin had upturned the tribunal’s decision and ordered the parties to return to a newly constituted tribunal for the determination of whether Oshiomhole had the basic qualifications or not.

The governor was dissatisfied with the Appeal Court judgment and consequently appealed to the Supreme Court.

Arguing the appeal, Olanipekun said there was no basis for the judgment of the court of appeal.

According to him, the petitioner grounded his petition on corrupt practice and none compliance with the Electoral Act 2010, but not on Oshiomhole’s non-qualification.

He said that the Court of Appeal made a case for the Respondent, which the Respondent did not make for himself.

The petition challenges results in five out of 18 local governments. He said that PDP honourably withdrew from the petition because it was hopeless.

Responding, counsel to Airhiavbere, Chief Efe Akpofure, SAN, asked the court to dismiss the appeal and affirm the judgment of the lower court.

He said that the tribunal did not say that there was no ground to sustain the allegation that Oshiomhole did not have the qualification to contest the governorship.

He said that the fact that non-qualification was not made a separate ground was not a basis to hold that there was no ground in the pleadings to sustain the allegation that Oshiomhole was not qualified.

Akpofure called on the Supreme Court to read the whole petition as a whole.

He also argued that the tribunal found that the allegation of Oshiomhole’s non-qualification was raised in the plea but held that it was a pre-election matter.