20th January, 2023
By Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt
Members of All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers were thrown into jubilation on Friday after the Port Harcourt Division of Court of Appeal nullified judgement of a Federal High Court that disqualified Tonye Cole, the party’s governorship candidate from participating in the 2023 election.
The lower court presided over by Justice Emmanuel Obile had disqualified Cole on the grounds that he has dual citizenship and that the primary through which he emerged as a candidate was not monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
But in their unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Olabode Adegbehingbe, the appeal court justices said it was not the fault of the APC that INEC did not monitor the party’s primaries.
Cole has been going in and out of court over cases instituted to nullify his candidacy and stop APC from participating in the Rivers 2023 governorship election.
He has lost the suits mostly filed by the ruling PDP in the state at the Federal High Court level.
But he has won all the cases decided so far at the appelate court.
However, the Rivers Government has instituted a criminal case against him, Rotimi Amaechi, former Governor of the state and immediate past Minister of Transportation, Sahara Energy limited and one Augustine Wokocha, a former Commissioner for Power on the allegation that they illegally sold assets belonging to the state.