Cross River Tribunal dismisses NNPP petition against Gov Otu

The Cross River State Governorship Elections Petitions Tribunal has dismissed a petition filed by the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) against Governor Bassey Otu, the incumbent and gubernatorial candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 election.

The NNPP alongside its governorship candidate Wilfred Bonse, had approached the tribunal seeking to nullify the March 15 gubernatorial elections in the state.

The party, which filled its petition on April 10, 2023, with Suit Number: EPT/CR/GOV/08/2023, had hinged its petition on substantial non-compliance with the 2022 Electoral Act.

The party sought a declaration by the court that the non-inclusion of the party’s logo on the ballot paper used for the election was unlawful.

The NNPP also wanted a declaration by the tribunal that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), conducts a fresh Governorship election in the state.

They also sought an order nullifying the election for failure to include the logo of the party in line with an extant judgment by the Federal High Court and the Appeal Court.

In addition, the party wanted the certificate of return issued to the Cross River State governor, Bassey Out, withdrawn.

In a unanimous judgment, however, Justice Oken Inneh said the petitioners failed to establish that their candidate was lawfully excluded and dismissed the case in its entirety.

She said the petitioners only called two witnesses out of over 3,000 polling units and their testimonies were inconsistent, adding that the NNPP did not name the candidate who was substituted, and INEC did not monitor its primary in line with the Electoral Act.

The tribunal also awarded a cost of one million naira each in favour of all the respondents.

Speaking after the judgment, Ededem Ani, counsel for Governor Otu, said “the matter was instituted by the NNPP and its supposed candidate in the last gubernatorial elections against the governor, APC and INEC.

“So, the court today has dismissed that petition for being unmeritorious and rightly so because there was no basis for it and has given it the treatment it deserves. We are grateful to the tribunal judgment because it represents one less distraction for Senator Bassey Edet Out, who was lawfully elected by the people of the state,” he said.

Counsel for the petitioners D. D. Ujong declined comments.

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