Rivers State Tribunal Upholds Gov Fubara’s Election, Rejects Opposition Petitions

The Rivers State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, located in Abuja, has delivered its verdict by dismissing all petitions aimed at nullifying the election of Governor Similayi Fubara of Rivers State.

The tribunal upheld the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) declaration of Governor Fubara, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as the winner of the gubernatorial election, having secured 302,614 votes in the March 18, 2023 election.

Several opposition parties, including the All Progressives Congress (APC), Labour Party (LP), Allies Peoples Movement (APM), and Accord Party (AP), were dissatisfied with the election results and had approached the election petitions tribunal in an attempt to have the election invalidated.

In a ruling delivered, the Justice Cletus Emifonye-led three-member tribunal dismissed all four petitions, citing their lack of merit, jurisdiction, and incompetence.

The Labour Party’s petition was dismissed on the grounds of lacking merit and the failure of the petitioners to substantiate their allegations. The tribunal also dismissed the petition filed by the AP’s candidate, Lulu-Briggs, who claimed that Fubara was not duly elected with a majority of lawful votes and that the election was marred by irregularities. The tribunal ruled that Lulu-Briggs had not sufficiently proven that the election did not comply with the constitutional and electoral provisions.

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Additionally, the tribunal rejected the petition filed by Innocent Ekwu of the APM, stating that it lacked merit and that Ekwu did not have the legal standing to file the petition because he did not contest the Rivers State governorship election. The tribunal declared Whyte Churchill as the party’s candidate in the March 18 election.

As a result of these rulings, the tribunal upheld Governor Similayi Fubara’s election as the validly elected governor of Rivers State.