The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja yesterday affirmed the judgement of the Gombe State governorship election tribunal, which upheld the victory of Governor Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya in the last governorship election held in the state.
The tribunal had dismissed the petition filed by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) challenging the re-election of Governor Yahaya of the APC.
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On March 18, 2023, INEC announced Governor Yahaya of the APC as the winner of the governorship after polling 342,821 votes to defeat his close rival, Muhammad Jibrin Barde of the PDP, who scored 233,131.
Not satisfied with the outcome of the election, the PDP candidate had approached the tribunal, insisting that the election of the governor did not comply with the provisions of the Electoral Act.
His lawyers maintained that the PDP candidate scored the majority of the lawful votes cast during the poll, while multiple thumbprinting and ballot box stuffing took place in nine local government areas of the state in favour of Governor Inuwa Yahaya.
But the three-man panel of the tribunal, chaired by Justice S.B. Belgore, dismissed the PDP application for lack of merit.
The tribunal further expunged the witnesses’ statements and exhibits of the PDP (INEC forms) for being baseless.
The PDP candidate then approached the Court of Appeal to seek redress.
In its judgement yesterday, the appellate court agreed with the tribunal that PDP’s petition case was devoid of merit.
“We have considered all the issues and have agreed that the appeal is void of merit,” the Appeal Court held while dismissing the appeal”.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja also set aside the judgement of the election petitions tribunal in Nasarawa State, which nullified the election of Governor Abdullahi Sule.
The tribunal, in its judgment delivered on October 2, 2023, ordered the removal of the governor from office.
But the appellate court held yesterday that the tribunal headed by Justice Ezekiel Ajayi acted in grave error in using witness statements on oath, despite the fact that they were not front loaded as required by the law, to arrive at the unjust conclusion of nullifying the election of the governor.
In a judgment delivered by Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam, the Court of Appeal said the tribunal was legally bound to act on witness statements filed along with the petition or front loaded within 21 days stipulated by law.
The court held that no petition can lawfully be amended outside the 21 days allowed by law as wrongly done by the Tribunal.
According to the appellate court, since the statements used by the tribunal to sack the governor were not front loaded in compliance with law, the statements were a product of illegality with no probate value for a law court to act upon.
The court also dismissed issues of over-voting, which was also used to annul the election, adding that allegations of that were not established by law.
Justice Onyemenam held that the petition by the governorship candidate of the PDP was a nullity and invalid on the ground that the jurisdictional issues raised by the governor were unlawfully ignored by the tribunal.
The Court of Appeal ruled that the tribunal denied the governor fair hearing by not considering and making findings on the issues of jurisdiction raised at the hearing of the petition.
Justice Onyemenam agreed that denial of fair hearing against the governor was fatal and tendered all decisions of the tribunal invalid.
In all, the appellate court reversed all orders made against the governor and the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC and affirmed Sule as the lawfully elected governor of the state.
INEC had declared Sule winner of the governorship election on the ground that he polled a total of 347,209 votes to defeat his closest opponent David Emmanuel Ombugadu who secured 283,016 votes.
In a split decision on October 2, the tribunal nullified Sule’s election and upheld Ombugadu as the winner.
But the PDP in Nasarawa State expressed dissatisfaction with the verdict of the appellate court which affirmed Sule Abdullahi as the duly elected governor of Nasarawa State.
In a statement signed by the state chairman, Hon. Francis Enokela Orogu, PDP said while it respects the judiciary and the rule of law, it firmly believes that the decision by the Court of Appeal does not align with the facts presented during the tribunal proceedings.
Orogu said its legal team has identified significant grounds for appeal that warrants a review of the judgment by the Supreme Court.
The statement reads in part: “Our party will be filing an appeal to the Supreme Court seeking a fair and thorough review of the judgement of the Court of Appeal. We have confidence in the legal system and are optimistic that justice will prevail.
“The PDP in Nasarawa State remains committed to upholding the democratic process and ensuring that the voice of the people is accurately represented. We continue to assert that the election results, as initially determined by the election tribunal, are a true reflection of the will of the people of Nasarawa State.
“We urge our teeming supporters, party faithful, and the general public to remain calm and maintain confidence in the democratic institutions and the judicial system of our great country.”
However, the Nasarawa State governor described the verdict by the Court of Appeal invalidating the decision of the governorship election petitions tribunal sacking him from office as a victory for democracy and the people of the State.
He stated this while addressing APC stakeholders and loyalists who paid him a solidarity visit shortly after the Court of Appeal judgement on Thursday.
The governor urged the main opposition party to set aside whatever differences that the contest must have thrown up and join hands with him in moving the state forward.
According to him, the reason for the political struggle by all parties in the case is to develop the state, adding that his administration will welcome any gesture aimed at bettering the fortune of the state.
Also speaking, the immediate past national chairman of APC, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, and former Senator representing Nasarawa South senatorial district, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, described the Appeal Court judgement as a true reflection of the will of people of the state.
Youths in Nasarawa State yesterday took to the streets immediately the news of the governor’s victory filtered in.
Motorcycle operators besieged Shendam Road where the state’s seat of power is located and tried to outdo each other in speed.