- The tribunal has reserved judgment on the petition filed by Cole, who aimed to nullify Fubara’s victory
- The tribunal led by Justice Emifonye dismissed the LP’s petition due to its lack of merit and inability to substantiate their allegations
The plea submitted by Beatrice Itubo, the Labour Party (LP) candidate for governor in Rivers State, was rejected by the panel that heard the petition during its Monday meeting in Abuja.
Recall that Simnalayi Fubara, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had his victory in the March 18 governorship election contested by Itubo.
Both the Labour Party (LP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC), along with their respective candidates, filed an appeal before the tribunal after Fubara was named the election’s victor.
Fubara received 302,614 votes, defeating his closest rival Tonye Cole from the APC, who scored 95,274 votes. The Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, Senator Magnus Abe, and Itubo came in third and fourth place, respectively, with 46,981 and 22,224 votes.
On September 13, the tribunal reserved judgment on the petition filed by Cole, who sought to nullify Fubara’s victory.
The three-member tribunal, led by Justice Cletus Emifonye, adjourned the case for judgment after the parties presented their final written addresses and arguments for and against the petition.
However, in its ruling on Monday, the Justice Emifonye-led tribunal dismissed the LP’s petition, citing a lack of merit and failure to substantiate their allegations.
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