JUST IN: Court Disqualifiers APC Governorship Candidate In Rivers State, Patrick Tonye-Cole

A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt has disqualified the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Patrick Tonye-Cole, for his dual citizenship and failure to comply with electoral law.

The Peoples Democratic Party of Rivers State asked the court to order INEC not to recognize Patrick Tonye-Cole as the gubernatorial candidate of the APC because of his alleged dual citizenship and that the representative election that produced him did not follow due process.

Justice EMMANUEL OBILE in his judgment agreed with the views of the People’s Democratic Party that Patrick Tonye-Cole, who holds dual citizenship, is not competent to contest the governorship and that the APC primaries that produced Tonye-Cole were not monitored by Independent National Election Commission.

Contrary to the initial objection of APC against PDP and its gubernatorial candidate, SIMINIALAYI FUBARA, that no court has the right to interfere in the affairs of another party, Justice EMMANUEL OBILE ruled against APC that the court has jurisdiction to hear the matter and thus directed INEC to remove the name of Patrick Tonye-Cole from the list for the 2023 general election in Rivers State.