Tonye Cole, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate who challenged the 2023 gubernatorial election in Rivers State, has finally conceded defeat after the Supreme Court upheld the victory of Governor Siminalayi Fubara on Thursday.
“I acknowledge the recent Supreme Court pronouncement of Governor Siminalaiyi Fubara as governor of Rivers State,” Cole said in a video statement posted on social media.
He added: “As a committed democrat, I respect the rule of law and therefore pursued the electoral process diligently.
“Our collective goal is peace and I pledge to collaborate with all well-meaning individuals in and out of government to revive Rivers state to a place where commerce thrives”.
A five-member panel of the court led by Ibrahim Saulawa had on Thursday dismissed Cole’s appeal for lacking merit.
The court held that the appellants failed to prove the issues bordering on non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
Fubara of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was declared the winner of the governorship election after he scored 302,614 votes to defeat Cole, his closest challenger, who polled 95,274 votes.
Unsatisfied with the election results, Cole approached the Tribunal to annul Fubara’s win, citing irregularities, Electoral Act violations, and Fubara’s failure to resign as Rivers state accountant-general before the election. However, in October 2023, the tribunal rejected Cole’s claims, upholding Fubara’s victory due to the withdrawal of support from the sponsoring party.
The court of appeal also towed the line of the petition tribunal.
