2023: Court disqualifies Rivers APC governorship candidate, Tonye Cole over dual citizenship

A federal high court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers state capital, has disqualified the governorship candidate under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Tonye Cole.

Cole’s disqualification was based on a dual citizenship suit pressed against him by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.

He is a citizen of the United Kingdom (UK) and Nigeria.

The court also ruled that the APC did not comply with the electoral act that produced Cole as the governorship candidate of the party.

This development came after the PDP in Rivers state had approached the court to direct the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to recognize Cole as the governorship candidate of APC over his dual citizenship, The Nation reports.

The PDP added that the delegate election that produced Cole did not follow due process having not been monitored by INEC officials.

The presiding judge, Justice Emmanuel Obile, in his ruling on Thursday, November 24, held that Cole is not eligible to contest governorship position in the state.

He thereafter directed INEC to delist the name of Cole from the list of eligible candidates for the 2023 governorship election.