The candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Rivers, Magnus Abe, has explained the reason for the withdrawal of his petition challenging the outcome of the state governorship election.
Recall that Abe had challenged the declaration of the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Siminialayi Fubara, as the winner of the Rivers state governorship election, at the Election Petitions Tribunal.
Recently, the SDP governorship candidate announced the withdrawal of his petition challenging the victory of the PDP candidate at the tribunal.
Speaking on Tuesday in an interview with Channels Television, Abe said he withdrew his election petition due to the alliance between Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers and the President-elect, Bola Tinubu.
The former senator added that the alliance between the two political leaders makes it very difficult for him to prosecute the election petition.
He added that the withdrawal of his petition will provide comfort for his supporters who faced harassment and intimidation before, during, and after the election.
Abe said: “It is not all about the resources as I said earlier. It is a combination of different factors.
“First of all, what will cost us to successfully prosecute an election petition against the government of Rivers state is not something I want to discuss on national television. For the purpose of emphasis, that is not why we pulled out.
“When we started the fight, we were ready to take on the Rivers state government and PDP.
“Now, the Rivers state government is in an alliance with our mentor, father, and that alliance with G5 now affects the dynamics of what happens in River state.
“If we are confident that we can defeat all of them, we can talk to our people to sell their houses and markets to prosecute the case.”
