Appeal Court: Is there hope for 3 PDP, NNPP Governors sacked so far?

Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano, Dauda Lawal of Zamfara and Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau states are the casualties of the Court of Appeal judgments.

What happened in Kano

The Court of Appeal sacked Governor Yusuf, who was elected on the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).

Justice M.A Adumeh-led three-member panel, in its judgment on Friday, November 17, sacked the governor on the ground that he was not a registered member of the NNPP as of the time he contested under the party. The court also ruled that the NNPP did not properly sponsor him.

The judgment is different from that of the Kano state governorship election tribunal that earlier sacked the governor.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) and its governorship candidate, Nasir Yusuf Gawuna, has challenged the victory of the NNPP governor in the March 18 governorship election before the tribunal.

In September, Justice Oluyemi Akintan-Osadebay-led three member panel sacked Governor Yusuf after deducting 165,663 invalid votes from what he gathered in the election.

The votes were declared invalid after confirming that the ballot papers were either signed nor stamped by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

But the Court of Appeal did not talk about the matter, their judgment was based on the fact that the NNPP flagbearer was not a member of his party as of the time of the election.

Matawalle vs Lawal in Zamfara

In Zamfara, the Court of Appeal declared the March 18 governorship election that produced Governor Dauda Lawal as inconclusive.

In the judgment, the court ordered INEC to conduct fresh election in three local government areas of the state.

The affected council areas were places where election was not conducted nor their results not counted. The verdict followed former Governor Bello Matawale's appeal of the ruling of the tribunal earlier.

APC vs PDP in Plateau

The third casualty among the governors was Caleb Mutfwang of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Plateau state.

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Sunday, November 17, sacked the governor in a judgment of three-member panel led by Elfrieda Williams-Dawodu on the ground that the governor was not properly sponsored by the PDP in the election. Nentawe Yilwatda, the candidate of the APC, had challenged the victory of the governor before the court.

Is there hope for the governors?

All the sacked governors have said they will pursue the case to the Supreme Court, which is the highest court in Nigeria.

Lawal Lawal, a lawyer who spoke with BBC Pidgin, said among the three governors fighting for their seat, the Zamfara governor has more hope than the other, adding that the fate of Governor Lawal would be decided by the people of the state and not necessarily the court.

But Okalawon Gaffar, a political analyst, who spoke to Legit.ng, said the outcome of the Supreme Court should not be pre-determined, while expressing the confidence that judgice would be served.

He said: "There is hope for everybody until the final court says otherwise. In some cases, the decision of the tribunal and the appeal court were not the same."