Rivers Guber: Labour Party rejects tribunal judgement, proceeds to Appeal Court

By Christiana Ekpa

The Labour Party in Rivers State says it is not surprised by the ruling of the Rivers State Governorship Election Tribunal sitting in Abuja, which upheld the election of Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
The Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party in Rivers, Gogo Wellington, in an interview with Daily Post said the party is proceeding to the Court of Appeal to challenge Governor Fubara’s victory as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Wellington said the Labor Party still has a case to prove in the Court of Appeal, as it has enough evidence to prove that the election was marred by violence and irregularities.
“We wouldn’t say we are surprised with the ruling of the Election Petition Tribunal but we would say we are disappointed that all the facts and evidence produced in support of our case, the Petition Tribunal still decided that we failed to prove our case.
“We are still very confident that we have a case to prove that the election in Rivers State was marred by all forms of violence and malpractices. And that is unbecoming of any electoral conduct in the 21st century.
“Therefore we feel we have a very strong case to prove.
“To this end, we are proceeding to the Appeal Court to further challenge the elections that were held in Rivers State, as lacking in all the virtues that are supposed to produce a governor for a state like Rivers State.
“We are also challenging the qualification of Siminalayi Fubara to contest the gubernatorial election in Rivers State.” He added.
The Rivers State Governorship Election Tribunal sitting in Abuja, on Monday, upheld the election of Governor Fubara and dismissed the suits by all other political parties challenging his victory.