A Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has dismissed a suit challenging the candidacy of the Nigeria Democratic Congress governorship candidate, Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs.
The suit, which also named the party and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as defendants, questioned the process that produced him as the party’s flagbearer.
The suit was filed by Kings Unyeawaji, a governorship aspirant, through an originating summons challenging the emergence of Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs as the party’s governorship candidate.
He alleged that he was unlawfully excluded from the party’s governorship primary.
Counsel to Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, Ibim Dokubo, challenged the court’s jurisdiction to entertain the suit and questioned the plaintiff’s locus standi to institute the action.
When the matter came up in court, the plaintiff, through his counsel, applied to discontinue the suit.
The defendants did not oppose the application. Consequently, the presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Turaki, dismissed the case.
Speaking with journalists outside the courtroom, counsel to Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, Ibim Dokubo, said the ruling cleared the way for his client to continue his governorship bid ahead of the 2027 election.
Meanwhile, the NDC governorship candidate, Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, welcomed the court’s decision and expressed confidence ahead of the next phase of the electoral process.
The ruling removes one legal challenge to the NDC candidate’s emergence as Rivers State prepares for political campaigns ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
(Editor: Ada Ononye)
