Edevbie Vs Oborevwori: Delta PDP Warriors Drag Obaseki Into Forgery Case

The combatants in the struggle for the governorship ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Delta State Sheriff Oborevwori and David Edevbie on Monday, July 25, 2022 dragged Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State into their dispute as they took their case to the court of public opinion.

Victor Ebonka, chairman of Ika North East Local Government Area and a supporter of Speaker Sherrif Oborevwori who won the PDP governorship primary was locked in a verbal battle with Mr Evans Ivwurie, a supporter Edevbie on The Arise Television Morning Show.

GreenWhiteGreen GWG reports that Edevbie, also an ally of Chief James Ibori, the penultimate governor of the State had dragged Oborevwori to court on the claim that the documents he presented to the party for clearance were forged.

Justice Taiwo Taiwo upon the submissions and pleas had disqualified Oborevwori and ordered the PDP to present Edevbie to INEC. However, INEC has as at Monday yet to upload any of the two as its candidate bringing suspense to party activists that the PDP could go without a candidate in the election.

The Edevbie and Oborevwori camps surfaced on Arise Television where they made their points and inevitably dragged Governor Godwin Obaseki into the fray.

Evans Ivwurie, who served as Special Adviser to Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan affirming the right of his principal Edevbie to the ticket said:

“I will say that there is no cause for alarm and Nigerians are aware that there was a court judgment in Abuja where there was a definite, subsisting and valid judgment of a competent  the court of law that the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP is Olorogun David Edevbie. The judgment is very clear and unambiguous and the next thing is for the PDP and INEC to respect this judgment.

He accused the Oborevwori camp of failing to address the claim in the petition that he forged his papers and rather relying on the technicalities such as that the case was filed out of time.

“His client hinged his case on technicality that the case was premature that they should wait for INEC to send his name, saying that he should wait for the trailer to kill him before. He (Ebonka) knows that Sheriff did not go to school.

“Instead of going to court to defend the allegation, Sheriff relied on technicalities and unfortunately for them the technicality has suffered a major loss. It is a shame that the two major institutions that should strengthen democracy, the PDP and INEC will flout a valid court order,” Ivwurie said as he expressed shock that a man like Ebonka would defend Oborevwori.

 Ebonka who is also the chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, ALGON in Delta State disputed the claims putting forward that the judgment delivered by the court was perverse, based on hearsay and without documentary evidence to prove their submission.

“Yes, it is on record that there was a judgment but we thank God for the constitutional provisions that allows that when you disagree with any judgment you go to the Court of Appeal and that we have done. Our basis for going to appeal is that the judgment was perverse and without basis. There is nothing new about the case raised against Sherrif Oborevwori

“They have not written a letter to any of the schools that they disclaimed the certificates. They have not crossed the burden of proof.

Ebonka, a lawyer quoted several cases to prove his point and most pointedly, referred to the recent forgery case brought against Governor Obaseki by the APC in Edo State.

Also citing legal procedures, he said that the Supreme Court has laid the rules that to prove that a certificate was forged that there must be a written submission by the issuing authority to that effect saying that in the case in point that there was no such evidence.

“The burden of proof is on them. If I want to find out that a certificate is forged it is for them to go to the issuing authority. The onus is on you as with the Obaseki case. In that case the University of Ibadan came and said they issued the certificate.”

Ebonka also submitted that the Edevbie camp were hiding the truth that they had written to WAEC which confirmed the validity of Oborevwori’s certificate but that they had decided to hide that fact.

“They have written to WAEC and WAEC has told them that the certificate was issued by them,” Ebonka submitted.

Both camps were, however, insistent that their battle would not cost the PDP the state.

GreenWhiteGreen GWG reports that the PDP has consistently won the governorship elections in the state since 1999.

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