Supreme Court Delivers Judgment On Wike’s Appeal Today

The Supreme Court will on Tuesday deliver a judgment on whether or not the Rivers State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal which nullified the election of Governor Nyesom Wike on Saturday had the jurisdiction to hear the case against the governor.

The Justice Mohammed Ambrosa-led tribunal had on Saturday nullified Wike’s election as it upheld allegations by the All Progressives Congress and its governorship candidate, Dakuku Peterside, that the election which held on April 11, 2015 was conducted in substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act.

But Saturday’s judgment would amount to nullity if the Supreme Court holds on Tuesday that the proceedings of the tribunal had been conducted without requisite jurisdiction.

Wike and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, had in an appeal filed before the Supreme Court, challenged the jurisdiction of the tribunal on the grounds of its relocation from Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State, where the election took place, to Abuja.

?The appellants argued that the tribunal lacked territorial jurisdiction to hear the petition by the APC and Peterside in Abuja.

Dissatisfied with the ruling of the tribunal which affirmed that its relocation to Abuja because of security concerns was in order, Wike had appealed to the Court of Appeal.

The governor, who lost the appeal at the Court of Appeal, took his appeal to the Supreme Court.

A panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice John Fabiyi, had on October 16, heard the appeal by Wike and adjourned till Tuesday for judgment.