By Seyi Babalola
The Supreme Court has declared Siminalayi Fubara as the duly elected Governor of Rivers State.
The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the 2023 elections in Rivers State, Patrick Tonye-Cole, had challenged Fubara’s victory in the poll.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had declared Fubara as the winner of the election.
A five-member panel of the Supreme Court has now upheld Fubara’s election victory.
The panel in the lead judgment delivered by Justice Ibrahim Saulawa affirmed Fubara’s election shortly after it dismissed the appeal by Tonye-Cole for being incompetent and lacking in merit.
According to Saulawa, 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.
