The supreme court has upheld the election of Ben Ayade of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as governor of Cross Rivers state.
Joe Agi, who came second in the party’s December 2014 primary, had asked the court to sack Ayade over false declaration of age. Agi also contested that Ayade was not a bona fide member of the PDP.
However, the panel of justices held on Friday that Agi and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) could not prove the allegation against the governor.
The judgement, which was read by Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, said Agi could not even differentiate between the false document and the original, which was not good enough to make a case.
The panel agreed with Ayade that the difference in his age declaration occurred due to the urgency needed to fill out his forms.
The justices said Section 147 of the 1999 constitution as amended put the required age at 35 for governor, adding that if he used 1968 or 1969 he had already met the requirement to hold the office.
On whether Ayade was a bonafide member of the PDP, the justices held that it was solely a party issue.
The panel said until the party violates its constitution, the court would not interfere.
“Case of falsification without identifying the original from the fake is not good enough,” she said. “I endorse the the judgement of the lower court, which affirmed the decision of the lower court.”