A Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has dismissed a suit challenging the emergence of Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs as the governorship candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
The suit was instituted by one of the party’s governorship aspirants, Kings Unyeawaji, who alleged that he was excluded from the party’s governorship primary and sought to challenge Lulu-Briggs’ emergence. The defendants in the suit included the NDC, its chairman, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs.
Counsel to Lulu-Briggs, Ibim Dokubo, had challenged the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the matter and argued that the plaintiff lacked the legal standing to institute the suit.
When the matter came up for hearing, counsel to the plaintiff filed an application to discontinue the case. The application was not opposed by the defendants, prompting the presiding judge, Justice Muhammed Turaki, to dismiss the suit.
Speaking after the ruling, counsel to Dumo Lulu-Briggs, Ibim Dokubo, said the court’s decision had cleared all legal obstacles to his client’s participation in the 2027 Rivers State governorship election.
Reacting to the judgment, Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs expressed satisfaction with the outcome, describing it as the beginning of his journey to victory in the 2027 governorship election. He expressed confidence that he would emerge victorious and pledged to transform Rivers State in a way that would benefit all residents, including his political opponents.
