Court of Appeal upholds tribunal verdict on Rivers Gov., Fubara, dismisses Tonye-Cole suit

Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos has upheld the ruling of the Rivers State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal which had affirmed the victory of Siminalayi Fubara of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Governor Sim Fubara of Rivers State

Delivering its judgement, Tuesday, the three-member panel dismissed the appeal filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the March 18 governorship election, Patrick Tonye-Cole, against Governor Fubara’s declaration as winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

It would be recalled that Tonye-Cole’s case contesting Fubara’s election as the Governor was initially dismissed by the Rivers State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in October, this year.

Tonye-Cole subsequently approached the appellate court for a favourable judgement.

It is yet not clear if the APC candidate will pursue his case to the Supreme Court, as the law allows for final determination of governorship arbitration at the apex court.

Ahead of Tuesday judgement by the Court of Appeal, tension had been building up in the state following the mounting squabbles between Governor and his political godfather and predecessor, Mr Nyesom Wike, who is now the Minister of the Federal capital Territory (FCT) over issues relating to the control of Rivers State.

The squabbles led to a failed attempt earlier in the month to oust the incumbent governor by loyalist lawmakers at the State House of Assembly.

Further intervention through mediation by President Bola Tinubu to resolve the impasse between the two appear to have collapse following the renewed diatribe openly exchanged by the politicians.

Also, the political clashes has led to the dissolution of the APC executives and structure in the state which were collapsed and fused under the command of Wike who is also a chieftain of the PDP.

Similarly, several attempts by the PDP national body to sack the Rivers executive committee of the party have failed owing to court orders barring it to effect such decisions.

Presently, Wike controls executive committees of both the PDP and APC in the state.

The Tuesday judgment by the appellant court comes barely two weeks after the two parties had argued and adopted their final written addresses.

Tonye-Cole seeks the appeal  court to direct INEC to declare him the winner of the March 18 governorship election in Rivers State, just as he insisted that Governor Fubara was still signing documents as the Accountant-General of the state even after his nomination as the governorship candidate of the PDP.

The APC further a alleged some irregularities in the election, among other pleas.