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The All Progressives Congress has called 50 witnesses to testify over the allegation of electoral malpractice during the November 16, 17 and 30, 2013 governorship election in Anambra State.

Chief Olarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), counsel for APC and the governorship candidate of the party, Sen. Chris Ngige, announced this in Awka on Tuesday during proceedings at the Anambra Election Petitions Tribunal.

Akeredolu said the figure was pruned down from 101 to enable speedy trial and determination of the petition.

At the resumed sitting, Akeredolu urged the Justice Ishaq Bello-led tribunal to allow him time to submit additional documents before calling witnesses.

They included forms EC8A results for Idemili South, Aguata and Awka North local council areas as well as list of ad hoc staff for Aguata council.

However, the tribunal refused to admit as evidence extracts from polling units 004, Eri primary school, Otuocha in Anambra East council area following objections by counsel to Gov Willie Obiano and APGA.

Mr Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN) and Mr Osita Nnadi (SAN) objected to the request on the grounds that it formed the central part of the dispute and that it ought to come in when a witness was being cross-examined.

They argued that the document related to the issue of multiple registrations which had already been struck out by the tribunal earlier.

According to Ikpeazu, It is not only inadmissible based on the state of the pleadings for now.

It is also equally a contested document which due process needs to be made.

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Anambra Tribunal: APC calls 50 witnesses

Governor Rochas Okorocha | credits: File copy

The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress Governors Forum, Rochas Okorocha, has urged the party to stop the culture of imposition of candidates in order to move ahead of the competition.

Okorocha said this in his remarks at the 1st Progressive Governors-Legislative-Civil Society Roundtable in Abuja, on Monday.

The roundtable was tagged Improving Governance through transparent budgeting, accountability and effective public financial management. The Imo State governor, who said he was aligning himself to comments made by a previous speaker, said the 2015 general election was for the APC to win or lose.

According to him, the outcome of the recent opinion polls conducted by APCs foreign consultant is a true reflection of what is on ground, noting that for the APC to form the government in 2015, it must do things differently.

Okorocha said, Our victory is in our hands, it is left for us to make it or mar it but I believe we can make it. I believe that this issue of imposition of candidates must stop in APC and that is the only way.

The masses know us better, when they say this is the candidate that can win the election he is the candidate let there be liberal democracy.

If we keep doing the same old things the same old way, we will get the very same results.

Senator Olusola Adeyeye, at the forum, said when the APC formed the government at the federal level, it would reintroduce tolls along major highways to generate the required revenue to maintain the roads.

He explained that just as the government had responsibility to the people, the people equally had civic responsibilities to perform.

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APC must stop imposition of candidates

Tory MPP says Liberals trying to silence him for exposing budget shortfall
Progressive Conservative MPP Vic Fedeli says Premier Kathleen Wynne #39;s Liberals are trying to silence him for releasing confidential documents that reveal Ont...

By: Toronto Star

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Tory MPP says Liberals trying to silence him for exposing budget shortfall - Video

Expecting the unexpected is a given in a political campaign. Even so, any Quebec pundit who would have predicted, just three weeks ago, that the Liberal Party could form a majority government would have been dismissed as deluded.

A Lger poll released Tuesday confirms that star candidate Pierre Karl Pladeau gave a black eye to the Parti Qubcois when he raised his fist in the air to cheer independence. The threat of another divisive referendum is driving Quebeckers to the Liberal Party in droves. And this shift is occurring despite the fact that liberal leader Philippe Couillard looked inconsistent at the onset of the campaign after flip-flopping on such crucial issues as the zero-deficit target and the Charter of Quebec values.

But you didnt need to be a pollster to figure out that the Liberals have taken the lead for now at least. Looking at Finance Minister Nicolas Marceau debate with his economic counterparts from rival parties on Monday, it is already clear that panic is seeping in the PQ campaign bus.

The mild-mannered Mr. Marceau is not a PQ zealot. And yet even he parroted the new attack line of the week as he kept harping on the Liberals for closing their eyes on the pervasive corruption in public works in their nine years in power Mr. Marceau used the word corruption more than 10 times during the luncheon.

Organized by the Conseil du Patronat du Qubec, one of the provinces most influential business lobbies, the debate was an opportunity to hear how the leading parties intend to deal with Quebecs slow growth and high indebtedness. The two problems are compounded by the provinces rapidly aging population.

As the Liberals appear on course to take power, it is worth taking a closer look at their economic platform, which has been eclipsed by the sovereignty debate since the start of the campaign.

The Liberal Party promises to balance the provinces books in the 2015-16 financial year no matter what, through a rigorous control of public spending. It also wants to kick-start a sleepy economy by speeding up investments in public infrastructure that were put on hold by the PQ and by offering renovation tax credits. This is a Keynesian and populist approach to cure a recession that has long faded away.

More widely, the Liberal Party promises to restore a more predictable and investor-friendly business climate. However, it doesnt believe it is for the state to invest in risky oil exploration as the PQ is endeavouring on Anticosti Island.

Quebec is back in business, boasted Jacques Daoust, a former banker that is running in the Montreal riding of Verdun, during the debate.

Unfortunately, though, the Liberals are making a number of unrealistic assumptions and promises, as is often the case in partisan economic frameworks. In fact, a couple of promises resemble some of the fanciful ones the Parti Qubcois made (and broke) in 2012.

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Quebec Liberals writing cheques their policies cant cash

The Quebec Liberal Party is on course to form a majority government, according to an opinion poll showing the party well ahead of the Parti Qubcois.

The survey, conducted by polling firm Lger, is the first extensive survey of the campaign and corroborates all the signs that PQs campaign started faltering around the time it unveiled star candidate Pierre-Karl Pladeau and got entangled into debates about sovereignty and a referendum.

SOURCE: Leger

At the same time, pollster Christian Bourque, Lgers executive vice-president, said the Liberals lead in key ridings is still thin and the dynamic of the campaign has changed, with front-running Liberal Leader Philippe Couillard under fire from all his rivals.

The adjusted results for the Lger poll:

Liberals: 40 per cent

PQ: 33 per cent

Coalition Avenir Qubec: 15 per cent

Quebec Solidaire: 9 per cent

The level of support for the PQ has dropped only marginally compared with previous polls, while Mr. Couillards Liberals have grown at the expense of the second opposition party, Franois Legaults Coalition Avenir Qubec.

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Quebec Liberals on track to majority, poll shows