ABUJA - The election of Nyesom Wike as Governor of the Rivers state has been nullified by the election petition tribunal and
ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a fresh
governorship election in the state.
According to the reports, the chairman of the tribunal,
Suleiman Ambrousa, began delivering the judgment at 10:15am after the lawyers
of Wike (second respondent) and Dakuku Peterside, the petitioner and Rivers
state governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), announced
their appearance for their clients.
The three-man tribunal held that Wike was not duly elected
governor of Rivers state, adding that the election was flawed based on evidence
presented to it.
It therefore ruled that a fresh election be conducted in the
state within 90 days. Peterside had presented 56 witnesses who testified
against Wike.
The report further states that some of the witnesses were
directly involved in the April 11 governorship election in the state. But Wike, on the other hand, presented 24 witnesses, but the
tribunal held that their testimonies were weak, and as such could not prove the
governor’s case beyond reasonable doubt.
The tribunal also held that Wike’s witnesses made
contradictory statements, further complicating the defendant’s case. In its two-hour judgment, the tribunal also dismissed Wike’s
petition over the power of the tribunal to entertain the case. It can be recalled that Nyesom Wike was announced as winner
of the governorship election back in April.
He said he would appeal against the judgment.
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