Why Rivers, Kano Guber elections may be nullified

PPP Lead Counsel, Bar. Chibuzor Ezike


By Kunle Iliyasu

The recently concluded Rivers and Kano States gubernatorial elections may be heading for nullification as Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) challenges exclusion of its logo from the ballot papers.

The party while filling its case in the Election petition tribunals sitting in both states sought for the nullification of Elections of Governors Nyesom Wike and Abdullahi Ganduje of Rivers and Kano States respectively over unlawful exclusion of its candidates by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in violation of Subsisting Judgment of Court.

A huge political dark cloud and tension/uncertainty have engulfed the recent victories of Gov Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and Gov.Ganduje of Kano State with the Election petition Tribunals receiving the petition of Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) whose Governorship candidates were unlawfully excluded by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from participating in the just concluded Governorship elections in both states despite a Subsisting judgment of the Court ordering INEC to include the candidates for the said election.

It will be recalled that PPP party after nomination of its governorship candidates for the march 9th election was not allowed to submit the names of their validly nominated candidates which led the party to drag INEC to court before the election. The Court delivered final judgment days before the scheduled election and ordered INEC to include the candidates to avoid exclusion. The judgement was served on INEC before the march 9th election but surprisingly INEC went ahead in disobedience of the valid judgment and conducted the election in Kano and Rivers with the exclusion of the PPP candidates, an act which has put the elections in those two states in legal jeopardy with a looming possibility of nullifications of the elections in Rivers and Kano to pave way for fresh Governorship election, a situation that could have been avoided.

The petition filing process which was concluded today at the tribunal and already set for hearing has petition number EPT/KN/GOV/02/2019 for Kano and EPT/RS/GOV/01/2019 for Rivers State is also the first ever petition to have been filled challenging Gov.Wike’s victory while the PPP Kano petition is the 2nd petition to have challenged Gov. Ganduje’s victory.

Already supporters of the PDP in Kano and APC in Rivers are already celebrating the news of the petitions which they believe will offer them a chance to participate in fresh governorship elections in Rivers and Kano States.

The legal team of the PPP which is made up of 30 senior lawyers is led by erudite constitutional lawyer Barr.Chibuzor Ezike .It is no longer in doubt that the days ahead in both states will soon be engulfed in high level legal gymnastics with contending interest battling to fight off a possible fresh election or starve it off.