There are different interpretations on the judgement of the Kaduna governorship election petition tribunal which was delivered via Zoom on Thursday.
While some people interpreted the judgment to mean Governor Uba Sani’s election was upheld by the tribunal, others were of the view that it was declared inconclusive.
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It was initially reported that the judgment was inconclusive and Sani was sacked and elections were ordered in 22 polling units in four LGAs across the state within 90 days.
However, another perspective of the judgement said the tribunal dismissed the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the 2023 election, Isah Ashiru, challenging the victory of Sani of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In a judgment of two against one, delivered, the three-member panel headed by Justice Victor Oviawie dismissed the petition on the ground that the pre-hearing notice was filed out of time and therefore deemed to be abandoned.
The tribunal chairman and another member held that the appeal brought by PDP and Ashiru against the dismissal of their petition at the preliminary stage by the first and second defendants was not meritorious because the filing of the pre-hearing notice was abandoned and out of time, and therefore had dealt the entire petition a fatal blow.
However, the tribunal noted that if the petition had not been dismissed for lack of merit, it would have ordered a supplementary election in 22 polling units within 90 days in the substantive judgement.