The Supreme Court has declared Siminalayi Fubara as the duly elected Governor of Rivers State.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had declared Fubara as the winner of the election, which made the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the 2023 elections in Rivers State, Patrick Tonye-Cole, challenged Fubara’s victory in the poll.
A five-member panel, led judgment delivered by Justice Ibrahim Saulawa affirmed Fubara’s election shortly after dismissing the appeal by Tonye-Cole for being incompetent and lacking in merit.
Saulawa noted that the appellant did not prove his allegations of over-voting, non-compliance as well as non-qualification of Fubara to contest the election.
“This appeal is grossly lacking in merit and liable to be dismissed and it is accordingly dismissed”, Justice Saulawa held.
The apex court subsequently affirmed the concurrent judgments of the two lower courts which earlier dismissed the appeal for lacking in merit.
