The Coast is Clear for Tonye Cole

Elections in Nigeria appear to have taken place on a repeat basis. After every election, someone will have something to report to the court which will then nullify the results in support of the opposition. This happened to Tonye Cole, a gubernatorial aspirant in Rivers State under the canopy of the All Progressives Congress (APC). After winning the primaries, some people challenged the result in court and won, seemingly terminating Cole’s governorship ambition. But things have fallen into order for Cole as the Court of Appeal has changed the ruling that was granted against Cole.

Cole is currently moving around with joy in his belly. This is the best reaction to the recent ruling by the Court of Appeal which upholds the original primaries conducted in Rivers State for APC gubernatorial candidates. With this ruling, Cole is set to return to his peak, campaigning to be the one to take Rivers forward for the next four or eight years.

 Not only does the ruling return the party ticket to him, but it also arms him with the knowledge that the majority of the APC in Rivers State are with him. Therefore, he has more confidence to go on representing them against the ruling party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers.

Indeed, one can only conclude that the coast is clear for Cole and getting clearer. For someone who was essentially hand-picked to go and bring the governorship staff home, Cole is doing remarkably well. The first court case might have depressed him a bit, but all is well again.