The Supreme Court on Friday, explained the reason why it proclaimed Nyesom Wike, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party as the winner of the 2015 governorship election in Rivers state.
The apex court revealed on Friday, that the Appeal Court which endorsed the decision of the tribunal to sack Wike, did not give the governor a fair hearing and the facts presented as evidence by Wike were not considered and therefore declared the judgement of the court a nullity.
Wike had lost at the election tribunal when the chairman of the tribunal, Suleiman Ambursa stated that it had been unanimously agreed that Wike was unable to prove that election actually took place in the state while also stating that his witnesses gave weak testimonies that could prove nothing.
Wike also lost at the Court of Appeal two months later when the court dismissed all the issues raised and endorsed the decision of the tribunal.
On Wednesday, January 27, Wike however, emerged the winner after he approached the Supreme Court to examine the judgement of the appeal court, stating that the lower court failed to consider the evidence placed before it to show that election actually took place in the state.
To justify its decision, the Supreme Court stated that the tribunal was not constituted correctly as the chairman, Suleiman Ambursa gave his judgement in error because he did not preside over the initial hearing of the case.
Ambursa replaced Mu’azu Pindiga, who was removed in the middle of the hearing of the Rivers governorship election petitions.
The court also stated that Dakuku Peterside, candidate of the All Progressives Congress could not prove to the court that election did not take place in Rivers state on April 11 further explaining that the burden of proof was on Peterside to show the court that election did not take place on the said day or it was marred by unbridled violence.
