Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, lost the first round at the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja, which ordered that All Progressives Congress (APC) be allowed to inspect materials used for the April 11, 2015 Governorship election, and that forensic analysis be conducted on any materials found to have been tampered with. The judge also overruled Wike’s application on jurisdiction.

Chief Akin Olunjinmi, leading counsel to the litigant, Dr Dakuku Peterside, the Rivers APC governorship candidate, described the prayer and motion on jurisdiction as a deliberate attempt and “game-plan” to delay the tribunal’s sitting.

The ruling paves the way for the hearing of the substantive suit. Peterside and APC are insistent that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) erred in declaring Wike, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), winner of the violence-marred ballot dismissed as a charade by both local and international observers.

•Photo shows Governor Wike.