Court Dashes Ayade’s Hope, Affirms Jarigbe Jarigbe As Senator

By Akinwale Kasali

Former Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade, failed in his bid to retire to the Senate, finally, dashed. The Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, on Saturday, dismissed his appeal which challenged his defeat during the February 25 Senatorial Election.

The Court affirmed Senator Jarigbe Jarigbe of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as the winner of the Cross River North Senatorial District election.

Ayade of the All Progressives Congress, APC, had petitioned the Court,  which in its dismissal of his appeal, awarded  the sum of  N500,000 against him, in favour of the incumbent Senator.

Before Ayade became the Governor of Cross River State, he was in the Senate between 2011 and 2015. But in his bid to go back after his eight-year tenure as Governor, he lost by polling 56, 595 votes to Jarigbe’s  76,145 votes.

Earlier in September, the Cross River State National Assembly Election Petitions sitting in Calabar had declared Jarigbe as the winner of the February 25, Senatorial District Election and dismissed Ayade’s petition for lack of merit.

In the five-hour judgment, the Chairman, Hon. Justice M. A. Sambo, said the petitioners (Ayade and APC) failed to prove their case substantially.