Sokoto, Rivers Election Tribunals Get 75 Petitions

Sokoto State Election Petitions Tribunal has received a total of 17 including one governorship and 16 House of Assembly petitions from different aggrieved contestants, within the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The petitions were in respect of the outcome of the March 18, 2023 governorship and House of Assembly elections.

The secretary of the tribunal, Sunday Martins, who disclosed this to our correspondent however, said no dates have been fixed for the commencement of hearings on the various petitions.

As at the time of filing this report, the APC had filed petitions for ten House of Assembly seats in Shagari, Sokoto North, Tureta, Bodinga North, Tambuwal East, Gada, Silame, Goronyo, Isa, and Tambuwal West constituencies.

The PDP filed one petition for the governorship and six for the House of Assembly seats in Sokoto South II, Sabon Birni North, Sabon Birni South, Binji, Kebbe, and Kware constituencies.

Governorship candidates of eight political parties in Rivers State are challenging the declaration of the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Siminalaye Fubara, as governor-elect by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), at the Rivers State Election Petition Tribunal.

Also, 12 senatorial candidates as well as 26 House of Representatives candidates and 20 House of Assembly candidates that participated in the February 25 and March 18 elections are challenging the outcome of the exercise before the tribunal, which is sitting at the State Judiciary complex in Port Harcourt.

LEADERSHIP gathered that the governorship candidates, who have filed their petitions before the tribunal are Tonye Cole of the APC and Senator Magnus Abe of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Others are Comrade Beatrice Itubo of the Labour Party (LP), Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs of the Accord Party and Tekena Iyagba of the Booth Party.

Also at the tribunal are Dr. Innocent Ekwu of African Peoples Movement (APM), Etete Sobere of Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and Gabriel Gborogbosi of the African Action Congress (AAC)

LEADERSHIP recalls that INEC had declared candidates of the PDP as winners of the three senatorial districts, 11 out of the 13 House of Representatives’ seats and all the 32 seats in the Rivers State House of Assembly.

The commission thereafter declared the election in Port Harcourt II Federal Constituency and Khana/Gokana Federal Constituency as inconclusive.