He said there was no credible evidence provided by the petitioners to support the allegations and held that the petition “is bound to fail, and has failed. It is hereby dismissed. The petitioners are to pay cost of N50,000 each to the three set of respondents.”

Also ruling on Emerhor’s petition which was marked EPT/DT/GOV/32/2015, the Tribunal held that the petitioners relied heavily on the use of card reader as basis for nullifying the election result.

But the Tribunal held that the petitioners were unable to prove that the first respondent (Okowa) was credited with alleged toxic votes, and added that the petitioners were also unable to discharge the burden of proof placed on their shoulders by the provisions of Sections 136 and 137 of the Evidence Act.

“The petitioners having not proved the toxic votes credited to the first respondent, the issue of whether the first respondent was returned by valid votes becomes a non issue.

“The concomitance of the conclusion by the tribunal is that this petition is without merit, it is bound to fail, and it failed. It is hereby dismissed.

“It follows that the election and return of the first respondent as the duly elected governor of Delta State is affirmed. The three sets of respondent are entitled to N50,000.00 each as cost of prosecuting the petition,” the tribunal held.

Chairman of Labour Party in the State, Tony Ezeagwu, in his reaction, described the judgement as “unexpected.” He said the party will appeal against it. ‎

Meanwhile, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Ovwigho Igbuya, has congratulated Governor Ifeanyi Okowa over his victory at the Tribunal.

Igbuya who praised the judiciary for remaining the protector of the oppressed, described the 11 April, 2015 governorship election as the fairest and freest in the history of the state.

A press statement issued in Asaba by the Chief Press Secretary, the Speaker, Henry Ebireri, reads: “Your victory at the Tribunal shows that the people of Delta State clearly authorized your candidature. It also shows that the judiciary is the last hope of the common man.”

He enjoined candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Labour Party, O’tega Emerhor and Great Ogboru respectively, to support Governor Okowa in transforming the state, adding, “There is no victor, no vanquished.”

*Reported by Jethro Ibileke