The Supreme Court, on Thursday, dismissed all remaining appeals lodged by the All Progressives Congress, APC, seeking to reverse court judgments that led to the exclusion of its candidates from participating in the just concluded elections in Rivers state.
The APC had also prayed the court to reverse its decisions affirming judgments of the lower court which barred the party from participating in the State elections.
The apex court, in a unanimous ruling by a seven-man panel of Justices led by the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Tanko Muhammad, dismissed the appeals lodged by the APC and its factional governorship candidates, Tonye Cole on the grounds that they were incompetent and legally defective.
Recall that the ruling APC had through its lawyer, Mr. Jubrin Okutekpa, SAN, approached the Supreme Court, praying it to invoke its original jurisdiction under section 22 of its Act, and reassess the circumstances that led to the exclusion of its candidates from the River State elections.
Okutekpa contended that the restraining order from the Port Harcourt High court was obtained fraudulently.
He further asked the Supreme Court to reverse its previous position that its appeal against the verdict of the Port Harcourt Division of the Court of Appeal was merely academic.
In its judgment, the apex court held that it was satisfied that the appeal by APC was grossly incompetent and deserved to be dismissed in its entirety.
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The Acting CJN who gave the ruling, upheld argument by counsel to the Peoples Democratic Party, Emmanuel Ukala, SAN, that the appeal was incurably defective.
Ukala in his preliminary objection noted that the APC had in its notice of appeal, erroneously directed its prayers to the Court of Appeal instead of the Supreme Court.
He therefore argued that the party had not asked anything of the apex court.
Consequently, Ukala, argued that the APC had no valid appeal before the apex court, and urged it to strike out the appeal and dismiss same.
In the second appeal filed by Cole through his counsel, Mr Tuduru Edeh, the notice of appeal was equally addressed to the Court of Appeal instead of the Supreme court.
The reliefs which sought that the Supreme Court should officially declare him as the APC governorship candidate, for the 2019 governorship election in Rivers state was also adjudged incompetent and dismissed.
Therefore, with latest decisions of the Supreme court, all legal issues or controversies concerning Rivers APC in relation to the 2019 general elections, had been laid to rest.
