Rivers election: Lawyer reveals what APC is doing at Supreme Court to nullify Wike, PDP victory

Emmanuel Anele, constitution lawyer, has said that nothing will come out of the All Progressives Congress, APC, case before the Supreme Court seeking to nullify Rivers election.

According to Anele, the Supreme Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter, which it had earlier ruled upon.

He stated this when he appeared on AIT yesterday, adding that the Apex Court cannot reverse itself, having voided the primaries and congresses conducted by the APC in Rivers State.

He said, “The Supreme Court decided 14 cases, this year, on the basis that the time the appeals were filed had lapsed.

“The Supreme Court, I know, will not oblige what the APC is asking for. The Supreme Court can’t reverse itself in this instance, otherwise, there will be no certainty, unless there is a distinguishing factor, to say, let us depart from our past judgment.

“The APC is not raising any new issue. It amounts to abuse of court process. The Supreme Court even, yesterday, struck out the suit filed by Magnus Abe to amend processes.

“APC has never raised a new issue that would compel the Supreme Court to reverse its earlier decision.

“The crux of the matter is whether the primaries conducted by APC in Rivers State are valid or not, and the Supreme Court has repeatedly said it is invalid.

“It is not even asking the Supreme Court to compel INEC to add it in the Rivers State governorship election.

“The election has come and gone, the only way to challenge the declaration of Nyesom Wike as governor of Rivers State is the tribunal.

“The Supreme Court has no jurisdiction in the instant case before it. If you look at the prayer sought, the court is not a father Christmas. It cannot give you what you did not ask.”

Anele noted that the game APC wants to play was to approach Supreme Court and seek omnibus orders.

He said APC wants to use such omnibus orders to approach the election tribunal.

“They’ll now use that trophy to approach the tribunal. That would have orchestrated constitutional crisis in Rivers State,” he added.

“As at the time the governorship election was conducted, there was no injunctive order stopping the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from conducting election.

“The game will not favour anybody, but, would rather truncate the wish of Rivers people. They’ve voted and the results announced. Anybody going to the Supreme Court to get any relief, as a trophy to approach the election tribunal, will not achieve anything.

“The Supreme Court will not be blackmailed to give judgment to anybody because its integrity is at stake, democracy is also at stake.The Court of Appeal based its judgment on the earlier consolidated judgment of the Supreme Court.

“How will the Supreme Court, now, reverse itself? The Supreme Court justices should be firm and stand on their earlier judgments, so their will be certainty in the electoral processes.

“Nobody will blackmail the Supreme Court justices. Nobody will get anything out of this. It is an academic exercise.

“Elections have been conducted and winners emerged. Anybody who is dissatisfied with the conduct of that election should approach the election petition tribunal, if you participated in that election,” he said.