The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bukachuwa to disband the National and States Houses of Assembly Election Tribunal for Rivers State (Panel 1) because the panel was not legally constituted.
A letter written to Bukachuwa by the counsel to the PDP, Chief Godwin Obla, SAN, and dated July 24th, 2015 said the chairman of the panel, Justice Victor Uchenna Okorie was appointed in violation of Paragraphs 1 (1) and (2) of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 as amended.
The party said that Justice Okorie is a justice of the Customary Court of Appeal in Imo State and not a justice of the high court and therefore not qualified to be appointed as a chairman of election tribunal.
Apart from writing to the President of the Court of Appeal to disband the tribunal, PDP has also filed an application before the tribunal itself challenging its jurisdiction to continue to hear the petition filed by Senator Magnus Abe of the All Progressives Congress (APC) against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Olaka Nwogu (winner of the election into Rivers South East Senatorial District) and the PDP.
