Breaking News – Peterside, APC Win Round One At Rivers Governorship Election Tribunal

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News From The State Thursday, July 9th, 2015

*Judge Orders Inspection of Electoral Materials

*Dismisses Wike’s Motion On Jurisdiction

By Ayo Balogun, Abuja – Dr Dakuku Peterside, the Rivers APC Governorship candidate at the April 11, 2015 Governorship election and his party today floored Rivers State Governor, Ezebuwon Nyesom Wike at the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja.

The tribunal ordered that All Progressives Party (APC) be allowed to inspect the electoral materials and forensic analysis be conducted on any materials found to have been tampered with.

The judge also overruled the application on jurisdiction brought by Rivers State Governor, Ezebuwon Nyesom Wike.

Chief Akin Olunjinmi, leading counsel to Dr. Peterside described the prayer and motion on jurisdiction as a deliberate attempt and “game-plan” to delay the tribunal’s sitting.

African Examiner’s correspondent reports that with the ruling on jurisdiction and other motions done with, the hearing of the substantive issues and the epic battle challenging the result of the April 11, 2015 Governorship election in Rivers will begin July 23rd.

The Rivers governorship election has been described as the worst election ever conducted in Nigeria as police and other security agencies looked the other way as political PDP thugs, hoodlums openly bombed, maimed and killed many APC supporters during the electioneering campaigns.

While during the election proper the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) believed to have concocted outrageous figures, even in many places where elections were either disrupted or not conducted to return the PDP candidate, Nyesom as winner of the gubernatorial election.

Both foreign and local election observers said the election was “charade in which hoodlums, thugs, security agents connived to unleashed terror on voters.”