Jubilation spontaneously erupted in parts of Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, on Thursday as the Supreme Court upheld the election of Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Supporters of the governor reportedly held parties in various parts of the state to celebrate his victory.
Leadership reports that at the Government House main car park, supporters and loyalists of the governor were seen dancing and jubilating while the troupe of the Rivers State Council for Arts and Culture (RSCAC) was seen arranging their equipment for cultural performances later in the day.
Also, at the State Secretariat complex in Port Harcourt, workers abandoned their duty posts to join in the celebration of the victory. The car park of Block ‘C’ of the secretariat complex was filled to the brim as workers were seen dancing and jubilating.
The Supreme Court had on Thursday dismissed the appeal of Tonye Cole and the All Progressives Congress (APC) against the election of Fubara as Rivers State governor for lacking in merit.
The court held that the appellant did not prove the allegations of non-compliance with the Electoral Act, among other things, and declared that the appeal was incompetent and dismissed it.
Cole, the APC candidate in the March 18, 2023, election, challenged Governor Fubara’s victory on the grounds that he did not resign as the accountant general of Rivers State before the election.
The APC governorship candidate also cited alleged irregularities, non-compliance with the Electoral Act, and corrupt practices.
He sought the reversal of the judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Tribunal, which upheld the declaration of Fubara of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the Rivers Governorship Election.
The court held that the appellant did not prove the allegations of non-compliance with the Electoral Act, among other things.
Both the tribunal and the Court of Appeal had dismissed Cole’s case for want of merit.
Reading the lead judgment, Justice Ibrahim Saulawa dismissed the appeal.
The five-man panel in a unanimous decision held that the appellant failed to prove his allegations that there was non-compliance with the Electoral Act during the election.
