Tribunal dismisses petition against Wike’s re-election

Nyesom Wike

Rivers State Governorship Election Tribunal has dismissed a petition filed by the governorship candidate of African Action Congress (AAC), Biokpomabo Awara, against the re-election of Nyesom Wike as governor of the state.

The AAC had also included the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as respondents in the suit.

Justice K. A. Orjiako, presiding over the three-man panel, dismissed the petition on Monday saying it was deemed abandoned on the ground of Paragraph 4 of the First Schedule of the Electoral Act.

Orjiako said the petition was deemed to be technically abandoned because the AAC and its candidate failed to meet key procedural requirements as to applying for pre-hearing information.

The tribunal had earlier struck out applications by Mr Awara seeking to be separated from all joint applications previously made with the party.

It also struck out an application filed by the petitioner for pre-hearing of the matter.