Nasarawa Election: Tribunal Upholds Governor Sule’s Victory

A file photo of Governor Abdullahi Sule.

The Governor Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Lafia, Nasarawa State has dismissed the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, David Ombugadu.

The PDP and its candidates had filed the suit to challenge the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate, Abdullahi Sule, in the March 9 poll.

They sought an order of the court for a fresh election in Nasarawa, alleging that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not comply with the accreditation requirements in more than 90 per cent of the polling units in the state.

In its ruling on Saturday, the Tribunal dismissed the petition for lack of merit after over eight hours of a thorough review of proceedings.

The chairman of the Tribunal, Justice Abba Mohammed, upheld the election of Sule as the governor of the state.

He ruled that the first respondent (the governor) truly scored the highest votes cast and that the petitioners’ allegations of pervasive case of non-compliance with the Electoral Act (2010 as amended); over-voting, undue allotment of votes to the APC, disenfranchisement of voters, widespread irregularities, and violence cannot be seriously relied upon.

According to the judge, the petitioners were unable to provide proper proves and credible evidence beyond a reasonable doubt.

Reacting to the judgement, counsel to the respondent, Sherrif Mohamed, commended the ruling while that of the petitioners, Gambo Afiku, appreciated the ruling.

He, however, said the next line of action for his clients would be based on further consultations.