Tribunal upholds Okowa’s election as Delta gov

The governorship election petition tribunal sitting in Delta state has upheld the electoral victory of Ifeanyi Okowa in the April 11 governorship election in the state.

The three-man tribunal dismissed the petition of Great Ogboru, candidate of the Labour Party (LP), challenging the victory of Okowa in the election.

It held that the petition lacked merit, and awarded cost to the defendant.

The ruling of the tribunal is coming two days after the Rivers state election petition tribunal sitting in Abuja sacked Nyesom Wike as the governor of Rivers.

The ruling of the Rivers tribunal generated ripples, as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the political platform of both Okowa and Wike, alleged that the tribunal’s judges had been compromised.

Also, an election petition tribunal had ordered a fresh governorship election in 18 local government councils out of 31 in Akwa Ibom, another oil-producing state considered a PDP stronghold.