BEVERLY HILLS, October 02, (THEWILL) – The Kano State Election Petitions Tribunal and the Plateau State Election Petition Tribunal have upheld the victory of Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of Kano state, and Simon Lalong governor of Plateau state respectively.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Ganduje, who contested the last gubernatorial poll under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the election but Abba Yusuf, his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rival, challenged his victory.
Yusuf had asked the tribunal to set aside the election on the grounds that it was fraught with irregularities.
But Ganduje, through his lawyers, told the court that the petitioners failed to prove that the election was rigged.
The governor and his party argued that the exhibits that were tendered by the petitioners were not certified true copies (CTC), asking the tribunal to dismiss the petition in its entirety.
Offiong Offiong, Ganduje’s counsel, submitted that Yusuf invoked presumptions in attempt to prove to the court that he was elected as Kano state governor.
Responding to the submissions made by the respondent, Kanu Agabi, counsel to the petitioners, urged the court to ignore the response from the respondents on the issues raised.
Agabi said the PDP candidate scored the highest number of votes during the March 9 election, but INEC refused to declare him the winner.
He pleaded that the rerun election held on March 23 be declared null and void, asking the tribunal to use results of the March 9 poll and return Yusuf as the winner of the election.
In its ruling, the tribunal headed by Halima Shamaki dismissed the petition of Yusuf and upheld the victory of the governor
In the same vein, the Plateau tribunal dismissed the petition of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate at the last governorship election, Jerry Useni.
Useni and the PDP had filed petitions challenging the victory of Plateau state governor and candidate of the APC, Simon Lalong.
INEC had declared Lalong winner of the March 7th election.
Both parties had approached the election tribunal accusing each other of mischief at the elections in the state.
A court ruling, however asked Nigeria’s electoral commission, INEC to allow the PDP scrutinise the materials used during the election, a judgement Useni, candidate of the PDP described at the time as ” a bold move in the pursuit of justice.”
