Governorship Candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the March 2023 Governorship Election in Rivers State, Arc Tonye Cole has debunked rumours in some sections of the media that he has withdrawn his petition against the winner, Siminialayi Fubara of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP.
Cole’s reaction followed the withdrawal of the case at the Rivers State Elections Petition Tribunal by counsel to the APC, prompting the report that the has surrendered his appeal and accepted defeat.
The APC guber candidate in a live video which has gone viral on social media where he spoke to his supporters in pidgin said he is going to pursue his case to the last stage.
He alleged that the PDP and others who are peddling the false information of his withdrawal are afraid because of the electoral fraud they committed in the state during the election.
Cole expressed the hope that the court would give him a favourable judgement that will put smiles on the face of Rivers people.
The All Progressives Congress, APC, had Monday, withdrawn from the suit challenging Siminialayi Fubara’s election which made the Rivers State Election Petition Tribunal to strike out the petition filed by the party following the withdrawal by the party’s counsel.
Following the withdrawal, the governorship candidate of the APC, Tonye Cole has become the only petitioner against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Fubara Siminalayi.
At Tribunal’s sitting, the APC filed an application for change of counsel in their petition against the PDP and its candidate.
When the matter commenced, counsel for the APC, Solomon Umoh told the Tribunal that he would be taking over as counsel for the party following a motion for change of counsel before the tribunal.
Umoh also told the court that his clients would like their names to be struck out from the petition as applicants.
Jibrin Okutepa, who was the former counsel for Cole and the APC, told the Tribunal that he was not briefed on the new development by the party.
The three-man panel led by Justice Cletus Emifoniye, however, granted the application for change of counsel and also granted the motion as prayed by striking out the name of APC as a petitioner.
