By Vera E. Abah, with Agency reports
THE SUPREME Court on Friday upheld the electoral victories of the governors of Abia, Bauchi, Cross River, Kano and Plateau state governors at the 2023 governorship polls.
While delivering judgement on the petition against the election of Governor Alex Otti of Abia State, Justice Uwani Abba-Aji held that the appeal by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lacked merit.
Governor Otti contested the election on the platform of the Labour Party defeating the candidate of the PDP, Chief Okey Ahiwe, and his counterpart in the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Ikechi Emenike.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared that Otti polled 175,466 votes to defeat his closest rival, Ahiwe of the PDP, who scored 88,529 votes in the gubernatorial poll held on March 18, 2023.
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Dissatisfied with the outcome of the election, both Ahiwe and Emenike of the APC, who came third, separately challenged Otti’s victory.
The Abia State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, in its judgement on October 6, 2023, dismissed the petitions and upheld Otti’s victory, a verdict that was upheld by the Court of Appeal in Lagos, which also dismissed the appeals.
SIMILARLY, the Supreme Court also on Friday upheld the victory of Governor Bassey Otu as the duly elected governor of Cross River in the 2023 gubernatorial election.
The PDP and its governorship candidate, Sen. Sandy Onor, challenged Out’s membership of Out of the All APC.
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Onor had also prayed the tribunal and the Court of Appeal that Otu be disqualified from the race for allegedly holding dual citizenship, as well as involved in certificate forgery.
These challenges were dismissed by both the Cross River State Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal both of which agreed with Otu’s submission that the PDP cannot challenge the governor on the grounds of party sponsorship and nomination because they were not aspirants during the APC governorship primaries. (NAN)
ALSO, on Friday, the Supreme Court upheld the election of Bala Mohammed as duly elected governor of Bauchi State, in a judgement delivered by Justice Ibrahim Saulawa.
The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Bauchi state, Sadique Abubakar, had alleged massive non-compliance with the Electoral Act during the poll at the two courts.
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His petition at the tribunal and appeal at the appellate court were dismissed for lacking in merit. The two courts held that he did not prove his allegations beyond a reasonable doubt.
Reading the lead judgement on Friday, Justice Saulawa resolved all the six issues against the appellant and held that the appeal was devoid of merit.
GOVERNOR Caleb Mutfwang’s victory at the Plateau State governorship election, was also upheld by the Supreme Court on Friday.
Governor Mutfwang’s appeal to the Supreme Court against the judgment of the Court of Appeal which nullified his victory, was upheld, thereby setting aside judgement of the Court of Appeal, which had unanimously held last November that Muftwang was not sponsored by his party, the PDP.
The court held that Nentawe Yilwada of the All Progressives Congress (APC) won the 18 March 2023 governorship election and therefore upheld his appeal.
In its judgement on Friday delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the Supreme Court held that the appeal by Governor Muftwang had merit.
The Plateau Governorship Election Petition Tribunal had earlier affirmed Muftwang’s victory prompting Yilwada to file an appeal at the appeal court.
IN ITS judgement on the Ebonyi State governorship, the Supreme Court resolved all three issues raised in the appeal against the appellant, Chukwuma Odii of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
A major issue at the heart of the case, and which is on the nomination of Governor Francis Nwifuru by the APC as its candidate at the governorship election, the Supreme Court held that it had severally held that courts should refrain from the issue of membership of a party.
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Noting Section 177 of the Nigerian Constitution on the qualification for contesting the governorship election of a state, Justice Tijjani Abubakar, who read the unanimous judgement said: “The end result is that the appellant failed to provide any evidence to establish the allegation of non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
“The appellant’s appeal is bound to fall like a pack of cards. This appeal is unmeritorious. It is therefore dismissed. The judgement of the Court of Appeal is affirmed,” Justice Abubakar ruled.
Kano governor Yusuf escapes sack, as Supreme Court affirms his election
The Supreme Court on Friday departed from the concurrent decisions of the two lower courts which earlier sacked Mr Yusuf as Kano State governor to uphold his victory at the March 2023 election.
THE VICTORY of Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano State also got the affirmation of the Supreme Court on Friday after it was nullified by the Court of Appeal as well as the election tribunal.
A panel of Justices of the Supreme Court led by Inyang Okoro unanimously departed from the concurrent decisions of the two lower courts.
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In the judgement read by Justice Okoro, the Supreme Court set aside the conclusion of the Court of Appeal on the two prime issues on which the lower court sacked Governor Yusuf, one of which was the restoration of Yusuf’s votes that were cancelled by the lower court on the basis that the ballot papers were not signed.
The second was the affirmation by the Supreme Court that Governor Yusuf was validly nominated, contrary to the decision of the lower court that his candidacy was invalid on the grounds that he was not a bonafide member of his party, the NNPP.
