By Musa Baba Adamu
The Rivers State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja has dismissed the petitions filed by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Patrick Tonye-Cole, and the candidate of the Labour Party against the election of Governor Siminalayi Fubara in the March 18 gubernatorial poll.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Fubara, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as winner of the March 18 to governorship election in Rivers State.
Delivering judgment on Monday, the three-man panel of the tribunal, dismissed Tonye-Cole’s suit on the ground that the national leadership of the APC withdrew from the suit against Fubara.
The tribunal also had earlier on dismissed the petition filed by the governorship candidate of the Labour Party, LP, in Rivers State, Beatrice Itubo against Fubara’s election.
The tribunal also dismissed the petition filed by the governorship candidate of Accord Party, AP, Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs.
The court equally dismissed the petition of the governorship candidate of the Alliance Peoples Movement, (APM), Innocent Ekwu, for lacking in merit and awarded N500,000 as a fine against the petitioner.
The petitioners had approached the tribunal, challenging Fubara’s victory as announced by INEC.
The three-man panel of the tribunal led by Justice Cletus Emifonye in its judgment ruled that the petitioners were not able to prove their claims and that the suits lack merit, and subsequently dismissed them.
