BREAKING: Supreme Court Upholds Governor Francis Nwifuru’s Victory

Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi state, has been affirmed by the Supreme court as the winner of the March 2023 governorship election in the state.

The apex court in its lead judgement that was delivered by Justice Tijjani Abubakar on Friday, dismissed two separate appeals by candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Ifeanyi Odii, and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Prof. Benard Odoh, that sought to sack Nwifuru of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

It held that the appeals were “patently unmeritorious.”

The Supreme Court held that it found no reason to set aside the concurrent verdicts of the Ebonyi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal, which upheld Nwifuru’s election.

The petitioners, among other things, sought Nwifuru’s disqualification on the grounds of certificate forgery and his alleged ineligibility to stand for the election.

The petitioners told the tribunal that Nwifuru’s election victory was characterised by corrupt practices, alleging that there was substantial non-compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.