Supreme Court upholds Otu’s election as Cross River governor

The Supreme Court, on Friday, January 12, 2024, upheld the victory of Bassey Otu as the governor of Cross River State in the 2023 gubernatorial election.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Sen. Sandy Onor, had challenged the membership of Otu in the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Court of Appeal, Calabar Judicial Division, had dismissed the appeal filed by Onor and the PDP against Otu as the governor of Cross River State.

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Onor had approached both the tribunal and the appellate court, insisting that Otu must be disqualified from the governorship race for allegedly holding dual citizenship, certificate forgery, and for not being a member of the APC as of the time of the election.

However, the lower courts dismissed the PDP petitions, agreeing with the governor’s submission that the PDP cannot challenge the governor on the grounds of party sponsorship and nomination because they were not aspirants during the APC governorship primaries.

The Star