The governorship election petition tribunal sitting in Lafia, Nasarawa State, has declared Dr. David Umbugadu as the winner of the 2023 Nasarawa State governorship elections.
In a ruling delivered today, two of the justices agreed that the election was won by the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) while one judge dissented.
The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Governor Abdullahi Sule sought re-election for a second term but faced stiff opposition during the election.
Recall that Mr Sule had polled 347,209 votes to defeat his closest opponent, Dr. Ombugadu, who secured 283,016 votes.
The tribunal ordered that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should retrieve the certificate of return from Mr. Sule and issue another one to the candidate of the PDP.
Meanwhile…
The Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal in Yola has dismissed the petition against the Adamawa State Governor, Umaru Fintiri.
In her judgment today, the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Theodora Uloho said the petition by the SDP governorship candidate, Umar Ardo was lacking in merit, defective and incompetent.
Following the declaration of Governor Fintiri as the winner of the March 18 governorship poll, the SDP governorship candidate, and his running mate, Amos Yusuf, approached the tribunal, challenging the outcome of the exercise.
Mr. Ardo in his petition maintained that the election conducted by INEC which returned Mr. Fintiri as winner, was not in substantial compliance with the amended Electoral Act, 2022.
He said the election was marred by corrupt practices, threats and violence, hence his request on the tribunal to nullify the election.
In his reaction, the SDP governorship candidate’s counsel, Mr Sylvester Emmanuel said the petitioner would file a petition to upturn the verdict.
The Tribunal further awarded the sum of 200,000 naira in favour of INEC, Mr. Fintiri, among others against the petitioners