By George Onah
Four political parties and their gubernatorial candidates, including, All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA; Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN; Action Alliance, AA and African Political System, APS, have approached the Rivers State Election Petitions Tribunal, seeking the nullification of the election of Governor Chibuike Amaechi.

Assistant Secretary of the tribunal, Mr Abubakar  Mohammed, told newsmen in Port Harcourt, weekend, that the parties are also challenging the election of Amaechi on the grounds of non-compliance with the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.

But chairman of the New Nigerian Peoples Party, NNPP, Deacon Princewill Enyie blamed lack of adequate preparation on the part of the opposition as being responsible “for the poor outing of opposition parties in the governorship election.”

Mohammed who disclosed that the tribunal was being inaugurated last weekend said the parties and their candidates were challenging the outcome of the April 26 guber_election conducted by INEC and seeking for a fresh governorship election in the state.

The candidates in their various petitions are alleging that Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, did not win the April election and therefore should not have been declared winner by the electoral body, “because there were several irregularities in the election”.

On the loss of the opposition, Deacon Enyie said “it was not a question of whether the PDP won the election but how financially and humanly prepared were these other parties for the election. The PDP was rooted and well prepared for the election, so no one should cry wolf here”.

Enyie then frowned at some villagers, in many parts of the state, who were demanding for money before casting their votes during the general elections, stating that such attitude would not strengthen the nation’s democracy.