The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Sandy Onor, faced a major setback as their petition against the election of Bassey Otu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was struck out on Tuesday, September 26, 2023.
The tribunal ruled in favor of Bassey Otu, dismissing the PDP's petition on grounds of lack of merit.
Sandy Onor had contested the declaration of Bassey Otu by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the winner of the March 18 poll in the South-South state.
INEC's official results indicated that Bassey Otu secured a total of 258,619 votes, while Sandy Onor trailed with 179,636 votes.
The APC candidate's victory was widespread, with wins in 15 out of the 18 local government areas declared by the commission in Calabar, the capital of Cross River State.