The Supreme Court has upheld Amaopusenibo Siminalayi Joseph Fubara as the duly elected Governor of Rivers State following the March 18th Governorship poll.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared PDP’s “Sim” as the winner on March 20th with 302,614 votes against his closest rival, Patrick Tamunotonye Cole of the APC, who received 95,274 votes.
Cole and the APC contested the result, citing two major concerns:
- Mr. Fubara’s alleged disqualification for not resigning as Accountant-General/Permanent Secretary within the required timeframe according to the Electoral Act and the 1999 CFRN.
- Allegations of ballot stuffing, ballot-box snatching, violence, electoral malpractice, and irregularities.
The Justice Cletus Emifonye-led tribunal dismissed the petition in October, stating that the withdrawal of the APC from the petition during the ongoing case deprived Cole of a foundation to pursue the petition.
Despite the tribunal’s decision, Cole appealed to the Appellate Court, which upheld the ruling on the incompetence of the suit but allowed Cole to continue his case even after his Party withdrew the petition.
Unhappy with the outcome, Cole further appealed to the Supreme Court, seeking Fubara’s disqualification and urging the Court to declare him as duly elected.
In a unanimous decision, the five-man panel, led by Justice KMO Kekere-Ekun JSC, affirmed the lower Court’s judgment and dismissed the appeal for being unmeritorious.
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