Tribunal dismisses APC’s petition, affirms PDP’s Caleb Mutfwang as Plateau governor

The Plateau state governorship election petition tribunal has affirmed Caleb Mutfwang as the duly elected governor of the state.

In a judgment delivered on Friday, the tribunal dismissed the petition of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate, Nentawe Yilwatda, for lacking in merit.

On March 20, Idris Amali, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) returning officer in the state, had announced Mutfwang as the winner of the poll having scored 525,299 votes, while Yilwatda polled 481,370 votes.

According to the results, the PDP won in 10 LGAs, including Barkin Ladi, Bassa, Lantang North, Langtang South, Riyom, Mikang, Mangu, Jos East, Qua’an Pan and Pokkos.

Not satisfied, Yilwatda and his party filed a petition challenging the outcome of the election.

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.

The tribunal also held that PDP actually held a repeat congress on September 25, 2021, in compliance with the order of a Jos high court delivered by S.P. Gang, the judge.