In Enugu, the governorship election petition tribunal has recently rejected a request made by Chijioke Edoga, who is the Labour Party's candidate, to question the state governor, Peter Mbah, regarding his credentials.

In a recent development, a petitioner has raised questions regarding Mbah's appointments as chief of staff and commissioner for finance, as well as his educational background, including the year he was called to the Nigeria Bar and the institutions he attended.

In a ruling delivered on Saturday, the tribunal's chairman, Kudirat Akano, deemed the application to be a "fishing expedition".

According to the judge, the questions being posed by the petitioners were not included in their petition.

In agreement with Ikechukwu Onuoma, the governor's counsel, she stated that the petitioners were attempting to amend their petition in accordance with paragraph 14(1) of the first schedule of the Electoral Act.

According to her, the primary purpose of interrogatories is to elicit admission from the parties involved regarding the matter that has been pleaded. She further noted that the petitioner had not pleaded to the matter in question.

During the proceedings, the tribunal reviewed its pre-hearing session report in conjunction with the verdict.

According to the tribunal resolution, the petitioner has been granted a seven-day window to substantiate their case, while INEC has been allotted two days to summon its witnesses.

The second and third respondents have been given a four-day window to summon their witnesses, according to sources.

In a closely contested election, Mbah emerged victorious with a total of 160,895 votes, defeating Edeoga who came in second with 157,552 votes.