APC ends case at Rivers State Election Petition Tribunal

The Rivers State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja has heard the last arguments from the All Progressives Congress.

Adoption of the final written address is scheduled for a date that will be shared with the parties.

Patrick Tonye-Cole, candidate for governor of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, is contesting INEC’s declaration that Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Siminalayi Fubara won the election.

In April, the PDP staged a protest outside of the INEC office in Port Harcourt by blocking the whole express road between Port Harcourt and Aba.

For about two weeks, they blocked the APC governorship candidate from entering the Rivers State head office of INEC.

On March 18, 2023, Tonye-Cole was supposed to pick up the Certified True Copy of the election results that showed Governor Fubara as the victor.

The PDP stated that they staged the protest to prevent the APC from carrying out their plan to substitute a forgery for the CTC of the election result.

They also insisted that all political parties, not just one, be included in INEC’s assessment of election materials.

The demonstration happened a few days after officers from the Rivers State Police Command detained, then released, attorneys working on the election lawsuit for Tonye-Cole of the APC.

Fortunately, the APC was able to obtain the necessary paperwork in time to file their case before the deadline for election-related cases.