By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

ABUJA—Failure of Governor Nyesom Wike and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to respond to a pre-hearing request by the All Progressives Congress, APC, yesterday, stalled proceeding at the Rivers State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja.

The Justice Muazu Pindga-led tribunal adjourned, yesterday, after it was informed that the defendants were yet to respond to the pre-hearing application by APC and its governorship candidate in the state, Dr. Dakuku Peterside.

The application by the APC would allow the tribunal to begin hearing on the petition seeking to annul the election that brought Governor Wike to power.

Nyesom Wike

Both APC and Peterside are praying the tribunal to sack Wike from office on the premise that the Rivers State governorship poll was not only fraught with manifest irregularities, but was also conducted with total disregard to relevant provisions of the Electoral Act.

Meanwhile, at the resumed sitting on the matter, yesterday, counsel to the PDP, Mr. Goddy Uche, sought for time to enable the defendants respond to the pre-hearing request by the petitioners.

Consequently, the Justice Pindiga-led panel, said it had no option than to adjourn the case till today, even as it directed Governor Wike, the PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to immediately file their responses to the application.

Earlier, the petitioners, through their lead counsel, Chief Akinlolu Olujunmi, SAN, had accused INEC and the other defendants in the matter of deliberately frustrating the petition by constantly denying them access to all the materials that were used for the Rivers State elections, contrary to a previous order of the tribunal.