Rivers state governorship election petition tribunal orders rerun

The Rivers state governorship election petition tribunal in Abuja on Saturday delivered its verdict on the petition filed by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Peterside Dakuku against the election of Governor Nyeeson Wike.

The three-man election Tribunal headed by Justice Ambrosia stated that it was not satisfied that the April 11 election satisfactorily complied with the guidelines as laid down by the Electoral Act.

The Tribunal therefore ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to organise a fresh election in all the local governments in Rivers state.

Mr Peterside and the APC had approached the Tribunal to challenge INEC’s declaration of Mr Wike, who was candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as winner of the hotly contested Rivers state election.

The petitioners had cited such irregularities as electoral violence which prevented the accreditation of voters on the day of the election. The APC similarly claimed the failure to use electronic card readers for accreditation on election day was an irregularity substantial enough to render the results declared by INEC as fraudulent.

The Tribunal agreed with the petitioners and upheld the prayer to order a fresh election.