Tribunal receives five petitions challenging Wike’s election in Rivers

The Election Petitions Tribunal in Rivers State sitting in Abuja on Friday said it received five additional petitions challenging the emergence of Nyesom Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party as the governor-elect of the state.

The tribunal Secretary, Deborah Musa, told the News Agency of Nigeria that the petitioners challenged the April 11 governorship election in Rivers State.

The petitioners were Kemka Elenwo, KOWA party; Dakuku Peterside, All Progressives Congress; Charles Harry, All Progressives Grand Alliance; Minaibim Harry, Social Democratic Party; and Labour Party.

Musa said the tribunal received another 27 petitions for the House of Assembly in addition to the earlier 17 petitions for the March 28 National Assembly polls.

NAN reports that the tribunal had so far received 49 petitions in the March 28 and April 11 general elections in the country.

NAN also reports that the tribunal Chairman, Justice V. U. Okorie, had on May 5 granted an order of substituted service on all the 16 motion ex-parte brought before the tribunal.

Okorie granted the motion after listening to arguments by the counsel to the applicants, Henry Bello and Emenike Ebete.

He explained that the motions were granted to facilitate speedy hearing of all the petitions before the tribunal.

NAN reports that all the motions ex-parte were seeking for an order of substituted services of the petitions on the 16 respondents in the National Assembly polls.