17 determined, 11 to go… how governorship tribunal delivered judgment across states

It is judgement season in Nigeria and governorship election petition tribunals are issuing their long-anticipated verdicts that will shape the governance of states.

Governorship elections were held across 28 states of the federation on March 18.

The elections held in Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Enugu, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara.

The Electoral Act allows aggrieved candidates to file their petitions within 21 days after the date of the declaration of the results of the election.

The tribunal is expected to hear and determine the petition within 180 days from the day the petition is filed.

So far, petitions have been heard and determined in 17 states.

AKWA IBOM: ENO’S VICTORY UPHELD

Umo Eno’s election as Akwa Ibom governor has been affirmed by the tribunal in the state.

In a judgment delivered, on Friday, the tribunal held that Eno did not submit a forged WAEC certificate as claimed by Albert Bassey and the  Young Progressives Party (YPP).

The tribunal had earlier dismissed the petition of Akanimo Udofia, candidate of the APC.

BAUCHI: TRIBUNAL AFFIRMS MOHAMMED’S ELECTION

In a judgment delivered on September 20, the Bauchi state election petition tribunal affirmed Bala Mohammed’s election as governor.

The tribunal unanimously dismissed the petition filed by Sadiq Abubakar, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), on the grounds that he failed to prove the allegation of BVAS manipulation.

P.T Kwahar, chairman of the three-member panel of the tribunal, held that the witnesses brought by the petitioners presented hearsay evidence.

BENUE: HYACINTH’S VICTORY GETS THE NOD

The Benue state election petition tribunal, on September 23, dismissed the petition by Titus Uba, candidate of the PDP, filed against the election of Hyacinth Alia of the APC.

The tribunal held that the allegation of forgery against the governor is a pre-election dispute that cannot be litigated before the tribunal.

DELTA: OBOREVWORI’S ELECTION AFFIRMED

The governorship tribunal in Delta has affirmed the election of Sheriff Oborevwori as the state governor.

In its judgment on Friday, the three-member tribunal, led by Chibuzo Ahuchaogu, dismissed the petition filed by Ovie Omo-Agege, candidate of the APC, for lacking merit.

The tribunal also dismissed the petitions by Labour Party’s Ken Pela and Kenneth Gbagi of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) for their inability to prove their allegations of over-voting, and non-compliance with the Electoral Act amongst others.

EBONYI: NWIFURU CONFIRMED

On September 27, the Ebonyi state governorship election tribunal dismissed the petition filed by Bernard Odoh of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and affirmed Francis Nwifuru as governor of the state.

The tribunal held that Odoh and his party lacked the locus standi to challenge Nwifuru’s membership with the APC.

ENUGU: MBAH WINS

The election of Peter Mbah has been upheld by the governorship election petition tribunal.

On June 20, the tribunal dismissed the case of Uche Nnaji, candidate of the APC on the grounds that the petition was not filed in compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act.

On September 21, the petitions filed by Chijioke Edeoga, Labour Party candidate and Chris Agu of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), were dismissed.

The tribunal held that Mbah did not forge his NYSC certificate and that he met the minimum requirement to contest the governorship election.

KADUNA: UBA SANI SNATCHES VICTORY

The governorship tribunal in Kaduna upheld the victory of Uba Sani as governor of the state. The judgment, delivered via Zoom on Thursday, dismissed the petition of Isah Ashiru and the PDP  based on technical grounds.

The tribunal held that the pre-hearing notice was filed out of time.

While two of the three-member panel of the tribunal ruled in favour of Sani, one of the judges ruled in favour of Ashiru.

KANO: TRIBUNAL SACKS NNPP’S ABBA YUSUF

In another judgement delivered via Zoom, the Kano governorship election petition tribunal sacked Abba Yusuf from office as the state governor.

In its judgement on September 20, the three-member panel of the court held that Yusuf Gawuna of the APC polled the majority of lawful votes cast.

LAGOS: SANWO-OLU RETURNS

Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s victory as Lagos governor was affirmed by the state governorship tribunal on Monday, September 25.

The tribunal dismissed two separate petitions filed by Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, candidate of LP. and Abdul-azeez Adediran of the PDP.

PLATEAU: MUTFWANG REMAINS GOVERNOR

Caleb Mutfwang remains the governor of Plateau state after the tribunal dismissed the petition filed by the All Progressives Congress and its governorship candidate, Nentawe Yilwatda.

Delivering judgment, the tribunal, led by Rita Irele-Ifijeh, held that the issues raised by the petitioner on party structure were pre-election matters and the petitioners lacked the locus standi to challenge it.

ZAMFARA: DAUDA LAWAL VICTORIOUS

The petition filed by Bello Matawalle, the immediate past governor of Zamfara state, was dismissed by the tribunal on September 18.

The tribunal affirmed Dauda Lawal, PDP candidate, as the duly elected governor of the state.

TARABA: AGBU MAKES IT

Kefas Agbu, candidate of the PDP, was affirmed as Taraba governor, on Saturday.

The tribunal held that Muhammad Yahaya and the NNPP failed to substantiate the allegations of non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act.

OGUN: ABIODUN RETURNS

The Ogun governorship tribunal, on Saturday, affirmed the victory of Dapo Abiodun as the state governor.

The tribunal dismissed PDP and Ladi Adebutu’s petition describing it as “incompetent, defective and lacking in merits.”

SOKOTO: ALIYU AFFIRMED

The Sokoto state governorship election petition tribunal, on Saturday, affirmed the election of Ahmed Aliyu as the governor of the state.

The three-man panel of the tribunal, led by Haruna Msheila, in its ruling dismissed the petition of the PDP and its candidate, Saidu Umar, challenging the victory of the governor in the March 18 poll.

CROSS RIVER: OTU CONFIRMED

The governorship election petition tribunal in Cross River state, on Tuesday, September 26, upheld the election of Bassey Otu as the duly elected governor of the state and dismissed the petition filed by Sandy Onor, governorship candidate of the APC.

GOMBE: YAHAYA RETURNS

The Gombe governorship election tribunal affirmed the re-election of Inuwa Yahaya.

The tribunal on Tuesday, September 26, dismissed the petitions of Jibrin Barde, the PDP candidate and that of the Africa Democratic Congress (ADC) and its candidate, Nafiu Bala.

OYO: MAKINDE WINS 

The governorship tribunal concluded its sitting on July 13 after dismissing a petition filed by the Allied People’s Movement (APM) challenging the victory of Seyi Makinde of the PDP.

Eleven states including Abia, Adamawa, Borno, Jigawa, Katsina, Kebbi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Rivers and Yobe are yet to conclude petitions challenging governorship elections in the states.