The Supreme Court has rejected the People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) challenge against the All-Progressive Congress (APC) membership of Cross River Governor, Sen Prince Bassey Otu, as well as his electoral triumph.
The Court of Appeal in the Calabar Judicial Division had earlier dismissed the PDP’s appeal filed by Sen. Sandy Onor, the PDP governorship candidate, against Governor Otu.
Sen. Onor had pursued legal action, alleging that Governor Otu should be disqualified due to allegations of dual citizenship, certificate forgery, and non-membership in the APC at the time of the election. However, both the tribunal and the appellate court dismissed the PDP’s case, concurring with the governor’s counsel, Chief Mike Ozekhome. The courts reasoned that the PDP lacked the standing to challenge the governor on party sponsorship and nomination grounds since they were not aspirants during the APC governorship primaries.
During the recent hearing, Joshua J. Musa urged the apex court to overturn the existing judgments, claiming they were perverse. On the other hand, K.O. Balogun, counsel for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), requested the dismissal of the appeal, citing the APC membership register as evidence of the governor’s party affiliation.
Governor Otu’s legal representative, Ozekhome, called on the apex court to dismiss the case with punitive costs. Justice Helen Ogunwumijo, presiding over the case on Friday, affirmed that the records indicated the governor’s legitimate election on his party’s platform.
Regarding the appellant’s certificate forgery claims, Justice Ogunwumijo dismissed them as a “nonsensical case” without credible evidence. She emphasized that the governor did not provide false information about the secondary school he attended. In concluding the judgment, she asserted that the apex court would not “subvert the will of the people” based on false allegations by the appellants.
