Rivers Tribunal Resumes Sitting In Abuja, To Hear About 80 Petitions

The Rivers State Election Tribunal which was relocated to Abuja due to the heightened tension in the state, resumed sitting yesterday.

The tribunal is divided into 5 Panels, with Panel 1, 2, 3 and 4 slated to hear the petitions challenging the National Assembly and House Of Representatives elections.

The Governorship elections panel stands alone to hear all the petitions from the various political parties that participated in the just concluded governorship election in Rivers state.

While Inaugurating the Second Panel sitting on the National Assembly Petition Tribunal, Justice Aisat Okesonwo said there was the need for the bar and the bench to maintain a relationship during the period of hearing all the petitions before it.

The Governorship Election Petition Panel has 12 petitions filed. Panel 1 has 16 petitions, Panel 2 has 17 petitions while Panel 3 and 4 has 16 petitions each, with each panel scheduled to resume hearing everyday at 9am.

Some of the petitions received by the tribunal are that of the Governorship Candidate of the Labour Party, Beatrice Itubo; the Governorship Candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Patrick Tonye-Cole; and one other challenging the victory of the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Siminialayi Fubara.

The APC and the Labour Party had earlier secured ex parte orders from the court to obtain the Certified True Copies of the election results and to inspect materials used in the conduct of the elections.