By Baron Ike
The Supreme Court has sealed the hope of candidates jostling for elective position in the coming election, upholding the judgement of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt which annulled the primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State.
The Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt had overturned the ruling of the Federal High court on February 4 thereby giving the candidates hope of participating in the election.
But Justice Mohammed Dattijo who presided over a five-man panel at the Supreme Court on Friday sided with the lower court in its earlier ruling.
The Supreme Court affirmed that the APC in Rivers had no ward, local government, and state executives, and so cannot validly be said to have fielded candidates for the election appropriately.
With the development, the likes of Tonye Cole and senator Magnus Abe, the two main contenders to the governorship position in Rivers State have been benched.