Tonye Cole
Tonye Cole, the 2023 gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, has stated that there is too much bad blood in the politics of the state.
The APC chieftain said the stakeholders in the South-South should be united and not take politics to the extreme and make it a bitter and deadly game.
Speaking during an appearance on Arise News on Thursday night, Cole said politics should not be seen as a do-or-die affair but as a way to serve the people and develop the state.
He said: “When you’re with one faction, you cannot talk with another, and you’re leaving out a lot of good people because there are capable individuals on both sides.”
Speaking on the Supreme Court ruling which affirmed the election of Governor Siminalayi Fubara of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Cole said he was disappointed by the ruling.
The oil magnate said winning an Election is good, but it should not be the end of the journey for any politician.
He added: “I have had people come up to me, thanking me for the kind of politics I have run, and that tells me we are making a difference.”
Recall that the Supreme Court, on Thursday, dismissed the appeal of the APC and its candidate, Tonye Cole, against the election of Siminalayi Fubara as Rivers State governor for lacking in merit.
Tonye-Cole and APC had filed an appeal against Fubara, claiming the Governor did not resign as Accountant General of the state within the deadline stipulated by the constitution and the Electoral Act before contesting the 2023 elections.
The APC candidate insists that Fubara was not qualified to contest the election, let alone be declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Cole and the APC are, by the appeal, seeking to set aside the November 28, 2023 judgment of the Court of Appeal, which affirmed Fubara’s election.
However, the apex court on Thursday, January 25, held that the appellant did not prove the allegations of noncompliance with the Electoral Act, among others.
The court held that the appeal was incompetent and dismissed it.
