Tribunal dismisses ex-Gov Ayade’s petition on Cross River North election

The National and State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Calabar on Saturday dismissed a petition filed by the former Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade, challenging Senator Jarigbe Jarigbe’s victory in the February 25 election held in Cross River North Senatorial District.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on February 28 declared the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate as the winner of the election after he polled 76,145 votes to defeat Ayade, who garnered 56, 595 votes in the exercise.

The ex-governor approached the tribunal to nullify Jarigbe’s victory in the election over alleged fraud and non-compliance with the electoral act in the exercise by INEC.

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However, in its unanimous verdict, the three-member panel headed by Justice Mohammed Sambo upheld the PDP candidate’s election.

Justice Sambo, who read the judgement, held that the allegation of irregularities presented by the petitioner was not backed by documentary evidence.

He said there was no sufficient evidence to invalidate the election and dismissed the petition accordingly.

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