Appeal Court Affirms Umo Eno As Akwa Ibom State Governor

The Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos State on Friday, affirmed the victory of Umo Eno as the Governor of Akwa Ibom State.

The court in its ruling dismissed the appeals filed by the candidates of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) against Governor Eno.

Recall that in November, the Appeal Court also dismissed the petition filed by Action Alliance (AA) and Accord Party (AP) against Governor Eno.

The three-member panel led by Justice Tani Hassan, said that the findings of the governorship election petition tribunal were valid and unassailable.

The Court, however, had reserved judgment in the case filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) against the same governor of Akwa Ibom State, who is the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the March 18, 2023 elections.

Counsel to the APC, Hassan Liman, had contended that Governor Eno was convicted by an Upper Area Court in Abuja.

He argued that it is a constitutional disqualification for a sitting governor to be convicted by a court.

Liman said that though the respondent (Governor Eno and the PDP) had argued that the sentence was set aside by the same court, they should not have participated in the election.