Tension in Akwa Ibom as Supreme Court decides on Emmanuel’s fate

– Chieftains of PDP and APC jittery as Supreme Court set to rule on gubernatorial poll

– APC chieftains believe the court ruling will favour their party

Tension looms in Akwa Ibom state as the Supreme Court is expected to deliver final judgment on the gubernatorial poll petition between the Governor Udom Emmanuel of the Peoples Democratic Party and Umana Okon Umana  of the All Progressives Congress.

Tension in Akwa Ibom over Supreme Court judgment

The Akwa Governorship Petition Election Tribunal, which relocated from Uyo, the state capital to Abuja due to alleged security challenge, nullified election in 18 out of the 13 local government areas. Even with this, the incumbent governor would still have had gained 495,204 valid votes as against Umana’s 37,572 votes.

READ ALSO: EkitiGate: Fayose reacts to $35million claim used to rig election

Not pleased with the verdict of the tribunal, both parties headed to Court of Appeal. The APC was seeking for total nullification and rerun of the entire process and the PDP prayed the court to set aside the judgment of the tribunal.

However, the Court of Appeal on December 18, 2015, granted the APC prayer after listening to the arguments of both parties in the suit and therefore nullified the April 11, 2015 election and ordered a rerun.

The PDP not satisfy at the judgment and headed to Supreme Court.

According to The Sun, a chieftain of the APC, Don Etiebet believed that the judgment of the Supreme Court will go the way of his party saying: “the Supreme Court would look at the fact of the judgment of the Appeal Court; and I know everything was quite legalistic, constitutional and up to the point; no ambiguity whatsoever.”

READ ALSO: Akpabio denies owning money in Dubai

Also, a former chairman of the House of Representative committee on information, Eseme Eyiboh, agreed with Etiebet line of reasoning stating that the apex court will toe the line of the Appeal Court.

Eyiboh said: “I expect justice. And the justice of it is that they will affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeal. I am not pre-empting it but it is because of the justice of it.”

The post Tension in Akwa Ibom as Supreme Court decides on Emmanuel’s fate appeared first on Nigeria News today & Breaking news | Read on NAIJ.COM.