Rivers State’s Governorship Election tribunal in Abuja has rejected the petition filed by Beatrice Itubo, the Labour Party’s gubernatorial candidate in the state. Itubo had contested the election victory of Simnalayi Fubara from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
After Fubara was declared the winner of the March 18 governorship election, both the Labour Party (LP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC), along with their respective candidates, submitted petitions to the tribunal.
Fubara secured 302,614 votes, defeating his closest rival, Tonye Cole of the APC, who received 95,274 votes. The Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, Senator Magnus Abe, and Beatrice Itubo came in third and fourth with 46,981 and 22,224 votes, respectively.
On September 13, the tribunal reserved judgment on Tonye Cole’s petition, which sought to nullify Fubara’s victory. After the parties presented their final written arguments and presented their arguments for or against the petition, the three-member tribunal, chaired by Justice Cletus Emifonye, adjourned the case for a verdict.
However, in its ruling on Monday, the tribunal, led by Justice Emifonye, dismissed the LP’s petition, citing a lack of merit and the failure to substantiate their allegations.
