In a decisive ruling, the Cross-River State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, convened at Moore Road-Calabar, has reaffirmed the legitimacy of Governor Bassey Edet Otu and his Deputy, Peter Agbe Odey, as duly elected in the March 18th Governorship poll.
The election, which took place on March 18, witnessed Governor Otu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) securing victory with 258,619 votes, surpassing his closest contender, Professor Sandy Ojang Onor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who garnered 179,636 votes. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officially declared Otu as the winner on March 20.
However, dissatisfied with the election results, Professor Sandy Ojang Onor and the PDP submitted a petition on April 4 (EPT/CR/GOV/02/2023) to the court, seeking the disqualification of Governor Otu and/or Deputy Governor Odey and urging the court to declare Onor as the rightful winner. INEC, Governor Otu, Deputy Governor Odey, and the APC were named as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th respondents, respectively.
Among the contentions put forth by the petitioners were:
1. The assertion that the 2nd respondent (Governor Otu) was not qualified to contest the election because he allegedly forged his certificate and did not possess the requisite educational qualifications.
2. The claim that the 3rd respondent (Deputy Governor Odey) was ineligible to participate in the election as he was still a member of the 2nd petitioner (PDP) and had not properly resigned from his ward.
3. The argument that the 3rd respondent, having obtained dual citizenship with Great Britain and sworn allegiance to another country, was disqualified from participating in the election.
4. The contention that the 1st respondent (INEC) did not properly nominate Governor Otu, making his votes in the election invalid.
In response to these preliminary objections raised by the respondents, the tribunal, presided over by Justice Joy Oghogho Okeaya-Inneh, ruled that issues concerning sponsorship and nomination were pre-election matters beyond the tribunal’s purview.
Justice Okeaya-Inneh further held that matters related to party membership were the exclusive and domestic affairs of the political party and fell under the category of pre-election matters in which the petitioners had no standing. Consequently, the tribunal declared that it lacked jurisdiction in these matters.
Ultimately, the tribunal dismissed the petition on the grounds of lacking merit and upheld the election victory of Governor Bassey Edet Otu and his Deputy, Peter Agbe Odey, affirming them as duly elected representatives of Cross-River State.
