The Rivers State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abuja, has declined to dismiss the petition seeking to sack Governor Nyesom Wike from office. ‎In a ruling this afternoon, the Justice Muazu Pindiga-led tribunal held that the All Progressives Congress, APC, and its governorship candidate in the state, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, properly convoked a pre-hearing session on their case against Wike.

The tribunal said it was not persuaded by contention of both the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and Wike that the failure of the petitioners to pay a mandatory ‎N100 fee for the convocation of the pre-hearing session, rendered their substantive petition liable for dismissal.

INEC had through its lawyer Mr. K.O.C. Njemanze, SAN, sought the dismissal of the petition as having been abandoned in consequence of non compliance with the provision of paragraph 18(1) of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act.

INEC’s motion dated July 27, was filed pursuant to section ‎6(6) (a) of the 1999 constitution, as amended, and paragraphs 18(1) (3) and (47) of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act.

The electoral body insisted that there was no evidence that the petitioners paid the necessary fees before they applied to the Secretary of the tribunal to issue them Form TF007, which will okay pre-hearing on the petition.

Similarly, Wike, through his lawyer Mr. Emmanuel Ukala, SAN, relied on the case of Ihedioha vs Okorocha and argued that the failure of the petitioners to properly apply for the pre-hearing session rendered the case before the tribunal liable to be dismissed.

Wike noted that the Imo State Governorship Elections Petition Tribunal had in a ruling it delivered on July 22, held that the failure of Ihedioha to pay the N100 filing fee in respect of an application for pre-hearing was fatal to his petition against Okorocha. The PDP which is the 3rd Respondent in the matter also aligned with INEC and Wike in asking the tribunal to dismiss the petition.

However, in its ruling, the tribunal upheld the argument of counsel to the petitioners, Chief Akinlolu Olujunmi, SAN, ‎who had urged the panel not to allow the Respondents to rely on technicalities to defeat the essence of justice in the electoral dispute.

Besides, the panel stressed that the letter the petitioners served on the Secretary to the tribunal on June 23, which requested for the issuance of Form TF007, did not qualify as a filed document as envisaged by paragraph 37 of the Electoral Act.

“It is clear that there is no imposition of any fee for the kick-starting ‎of a pre-hearing session and the application for issuance of pre-hearing form does not involve any filing fee. “Form TF007 and TF008 are not documents filed as envisaged by paragraph 37 of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act.

“If a pre-hearing session has began as in the instant case, the way it was kick-started‎ is no longer of any moment whatsoever. We hold that there was no defect in the pre-hearing kick-started by the petitioners. The applications by the Respondents are hereby discountenanced and dismissed”, the tribunal ruled.

‎Meantime, the tribunal is currently entertaining arguments from all the parties on the propriety or otherwise of allowing the petitioners to inspect all the materials that were used for the April 11governorship election in Rivers State, considering that the issue is already pending before the Appeal Court.


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So dem no get N100 to pay? Times must be really hard for them. Abi money has changed hands again...

Wike is the man of the people

ok

The truth shall prevail.
The CTC Governor WikeD claims he won the election but has tried everything humanly possible to stop the tribunal from hearing the petition and APC from inspecting the election materials.

But he has met his March in Dakuku Peterside.

Soon the world will know who really won the elections in Rivers State and Akwa Ibom State and why GEJ refused to go to court coz his votes may reduce from 12million + votes to 3million - votes after Rivers and Akwa Ibom states are reversed.

Then Ihedioha should head for Appeal and the Supreme Court because the IMO state tribunal dismissed his case on the same technicalities.

So something fishy is in this case.

Hands joined to Hands, the wike(d) shall never go unpunished.
Justice may be delayed but cannot be denied.
Ptience is a virtue which all of us must cultivate.
I foresee APC taking over Rivers state.
The wailers claim Rivers state is a PDP state yet they went further to rig the election, murder innocent citizens all to become a governor.
The blood of the innocent will never go in vain.
Dakuku is the man anointed by God to us in Rivers state.
Our mandate must be reclaimed.

I can't wait for the judgment on the substantive petition, all these are just delay tactics by PDP.