In a significant legal development, the Appeal Court in Lagos has upheld the victory of Siminalayi Fubara as the Governor of Rivers State. The unanimous decision, mirroring the earlier ruling of the election tribunal, dismissed appeals from Tonye Cole (All Progressives Congress), Beatrice Itubo (Labour Party), Innocent Ekwu (Allied People’s Movement), and Lulu Briggs Dumo (Accord Party).
Present in the courtroom on Tuesday, Tonye Cole sought the court’s intervention to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare him the winner of the March governorship election in Rivers.
The Rivers State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal had previously rejected Cole’s petition in October, stating that the APC, which sponsored him, had withdrawn the petition against Fubara’s victory. Unyielding, Cole turned to the appellate court, which, in a Tuesday ruling, affirmed the tribunal’s decision supporting Fubara’s electoral win in October.
Justice Ridwan Maiwada Abdullahi (absent), Justice Olabode Adegbehingbe, and Justice Bature Isa Gafa held that the withdrawal of the APC from the case did not render Cole’s petition invalid. They deemed the tribunal’s decision to strike out that aspect of the petition as erroneous, asserting that a political party cannot compel a candidate to withdraw a petition, nor can a candidate force the party to withdraw it.
However, the court found the appellants’ evidence insufficient in substantiating allegations of over-voting, disenfranchisement, and other purported irregularities. Claims related to fraud and Fubara’s eligibility to contest the election were also dismissed due to unconvincing evidence. Cole had raised concerns about irregularities and Fubara’s continued signing of documents as the State’s Accountant-General after his PDP nomination.
In summary, the court held that all appellants failed to establish the allegations of non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
