Rivers State: Supreme Court upholds Fubara’s election
In a unanimous decision by a five-member panel led by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, the Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal filed by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Mr. Tonye Cole, against the outcome of the governorship election held in the state on March 18, 2023, for lacking in merit.
The apex court ruled that it found no reason to throw out the concurrent verdicts of the Court of Appeal and the Rivers State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, which upheld Fubara’s victory at the poll, Justice Ibrahim Saulawa, said in his lead judgment
The court further held that Cole did not establish that the election was not conducted in compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.
The Supreme Court had earlier dismissed a separate appeal that was raised against Fubara by the candidate of the Allied People’s Movement, APM, in the election, Innocent Kere.
The appeal was dismissed after the Appellants, through their lawyer, applied to end the case.
The ruling means that the politically-troubled governor of Rivers State, who recently escaped an impeachment plot, would continue with his administration over the next three years.
