On Thursday, the Supreme Court denied three different appeals filed by several contenders for governor, who wanted the election of Umo Eno Bassey as the governor of Akwa Ibom State declared void due to purported certificate forgeries.
In the March 18, 2023, gubernatorial election in Akwa Ibom, the petitions were submitted by the governorship candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Young Progressive Party (YPP), and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).
Following indications from the justices of the supreme court that their appeals lacked substance, the lead attorneys for each party withdrew their individual appeals.
Following their withdrawal, Justice Uwani Abba-Aji dismissed the petitions filed by the APC and its candidate for governor, Akanimo Udofia; the YPP and its flagbearer, Akpan Albert Bassey; and the NNPP and its candidate, John James Akpan Udoedehe.
In the case, the attorneys tried valiantly but in vain to persuade the Supreme Court that the governor had falsified his secondary school certificate and that “Emo Eno Bassey” and “Bassey Eno Emo” were not the same person.
The justices of the supreme court did not agree with their arguments, particularly the ones about forgeries. The lawyers were questioned about whether the West African Examinations Council, or WAEC, had provided evidence to support the criminal accusations.
The attorneys chose to withdraw the appeal on their own after it was acknowledged that WAEC had not provided testimony in the case.
Judge Abba-Aji dismissed them as a result of this as none of the respondents’ attorneys objected.
The Supreme Court did not award cost against any of the lawyers to the appellants, having voluntarily withdrawn their suits on basis of want of merit.
In November of last year, the Court of Appeal in Lagos upheld the election of Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State in the March 18, 2023, governorship contest.
In its ruling, the appellate court dismissed three different appeals that were brought against the election of the governor.
The YPP’s candidate for governor, Bassey Akpan, and his party filed an appeal against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Eno, and the PDP. The three-member panel of Justices of the appellate court, led by Festus Obande, dismissed the appeal while upholding the September 28, 2023 rulings of the election petition tribunal.
Judge Obande also issued rulings in support of the governor against the petitions of Akanimo Udofia of the APC and John Udoedehe, the NNPP’s candidate for governor.
In the unanimous rulings, the appellate court ruled that none of the three appeals had any validity.
