The Supreme Court has rejected appeals by governorship candidates from the All Progressives Congress (APC), Young Progressive Party (YPP), and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), seeking to overturn the election of Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno Bassey, based on alleged certificate forgery.
The appeals, filed after the March 18, 2023, gubernatorial poll, were withdrawn by the lead counsel for each party upon the Supreme Court Justices signaling their lack of merit. Justice Uwani Abba-Aji dismissed the petitions by APC, YPP, and NNPP after their withdrawal.
Despite spirited attempts to argue that ‘Emo Eno Bassey’ and ‘Bassey Eno Emo’ were different people, the court was unconvinced, particularly regarding forgery allegations related to the governor’s Secondary School Certificate.
Notably, the court questioned the absence of evidence from the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) in support of the allegations.
Following the lawyers’ admission that WAEC did not testify, the appeals were withdrawn, leading to their dismissal by Justice Abba-Aji. No costs were awarded against the appellants’ lawyers, who voluntarily withdrew their cases due to lack of merit.