Tribunal Affirms Election Of Cross River Governor, Bassey Otu

The Cross River State governorship election petition tribunal has affirmed the election of Governor Bassey Otu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The court delivered its verdict on Tuesday, September 26, upholding Bassey Otu as the duly elected Cross River governor and dismissing the petition brought forth by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Senator Sandy Onor.

In a unanimous decision lasting three hours, the three-member panel, led by Justice Oken Inneh, sided with the respondents, including the Governor, his deputy, and the APC.

The judges upheld that Governor Otu met the necessary qualifications for running in the election and was rightfully elected.

The lead counsels for the petitioners, Senator Sandy Onor and the PDP, represented by Jonah Musa SAN, accepted the judgment, even though it ruled against them.

Jonah Musa SAN, however, expressed his intention to review the decision with their client, Senator Sandy Onor, before deciding whether to file an appeal.

On the other side, the lead counsel for Governor Otu and the APC, Mike Ozekhome SAN, explained that the court agreed with all their arguments against the petitions.

He argued that the petition lacked merit as the issues raised had already been addressed in five previous cases involving the same parties in pre-election matters.

Ozekhome further clarified that the Tribunal dismissed the petitioner’s challenge regarding Governor Otu’s school certificate, citing the Supreme Court’s definition of the requirements, which include the ability to read and write and having attempted a school certificate or its equivalent.

Governor Otu’s educational background, including university education, was taken into account, and the petitioners failed to present witnesses to discredit the certificates provided.

Regarding other grounds of the petition, such as the claim that the APC’s deputy governorship candidate was still a member of the PDP at the time of the election, Ozekhome explained that the Tribunal dismissed these arguments, citing their submissions and those of other courts.

The petitioners also sought to nullify the APC victory by alleging that the deputy governor had dual citizenship and owed allegiance to the United Kingdom, but the Tribunal dismissed this as a pre-election matter, outside its jurisdiction.

The Tribunal’s three justices unanimously dismissed the petition in favor of Governor Otu, ruling that it lacked merit, and did not impose any costs on the petitioner.

This comes barely 24 hours after the Lagos State Governorship Election Tribunal made significant rulings regarding the petitions related to the recent governorship election in the state.