Supreme court upholds elections of four governors

The supreme court on Wednesday upheld the elections of four governors.

They are Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Darius Ishaku (Taraba), Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta) and Abubakar Bello (Niger).

In Abia, Alex Otti, candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), had approached the supreme court, seeking the nullification of Ikpeazu’s victory upheld by the Abia election tribunal.

Lateef Fagbemi, counsel who represented Otti and his party, had asked the court to allow their appeal and nullify Ikpeazu’s election on the grounds of alleged over voting and non-compliance with the electoral act.

However, Paul Galinje, who read the judgment on behalf of the seven-man panel of judges, dismissed the appeal on grounds that the appellants failed to prove their allegations.

Galinje held that the appellants failed to “relate the documents tendered, to the specific areas of their case so that the figures representing over voting if removed, will result in victory for the appellant or render the election a nullity.”

In the case of Taraba, the All Progressive Congress (APC) argued that Darius Ishaku, the governor, was not duly elected by a majority of lawful votes cast in the election. The party also alleged non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act (2010)

Ishaku

Kanu Agabi who represented Ishaku and the PDP urged the court to dismiss the APC’s appeal for being incompetent and lacking in merit.

Responding to Agabi’s submissions, Ishiaka Dikko, counsel to the APC, while admitting that the party’s candidate was disqualified from the election said the second runner up ought to have been allowed to contest the election.

He urged the court to nullify Ishiaku’s election and order a fresh poll.

Delivering the judgment, the justices agreed that APC did not have a legal candidate at the election due to Danladi’s disqualification.

One of the judges held that the APC’s argument that the second runner up in the primary should have been allowed to contest the election was wrong because Sani Yahaya, did not participate at any stage of the election.