Politics
Appeal court reverses tribunal verdict, affirms Abdullahi Sule as Nasarawa governor
The court of appeal in Abuja has affirmed the election of Abdullahi Sule as governor of Nasarawa state.
The appellate court, in a unanimous decision by a three-member panel of justices, voided the verdict of the Nasarawa governorship election petition tribunal, which sacked governor Sule, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Sule as winner of the election with 347,209 votes.
David Ombugadu, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), polled second with 283,016 votes.
However, the PDP candidate had expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome of the governorship election, citing alleged irregularities.
On October 2, the election petition tribunal in Lafia nullified Sule’s victory and declared Ombugadu as winner of the poll.
Consequently, Sule and the APC sought to overturn the verdict of the tribunal.
‘INADMISSIBLE EVIDENCE’
Delivering judgment on Thursday, Uchechukwu Onuemenam, who read the lead verdict, held that evidence before it showed that the tribunal relied on legally inadmissible evidence to declare Ombugadu as winner of the March 18 poll.
According to the appellate court, the tribunal wrongly relied on the evidence of eight of the PDP witnesses, whose statements on oath were not front-loaded alongside the petition.
The appellate court further held that Section 285(5) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended; Section 132(7) of the Electoral Act 2022 and Paragraphs 4(5) (6) and 14(2) of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act; stipulates that every written statement on oath must be filed alongside the petition, within the statutorily allocated time.
“Where a trial court admitted and acted on an illegally inadmissible evidence, it is the duty of the appellate court to ensure that such illegally inadmissible evidence are expunged,” the judge held.
“A court of law is only allowed to act on legally admissible evidence. If documents are unlawfully allowed by a trial court, the appellate court is duty bound to exclude the documents and discountenance the evidence.”
The appellate court proceeded to strike out all the evidence and exhibits that were tendered before the tribunal by the eight witnesses.
It held that the evidence of 12 remaining witnesses who testified for the PDP candidate, were not sufficient to sustain the judgment of the tribunal.
Furthermore, the appellate court held that the tribunal erred when it deducted a total of 1, 868 votes that were credited to the APC candidate on the grounds that over-voting occurred in four polling units.
The court said the petitioners failed to provide the necessary documents needed to prove over-voting.
The court noted that Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines, and other electoral documents, were merely dumped on the tribunal without any of them demonstrating how the over-voting occurred.
It faulted the tribunal for dismissing the evidence of witnesses that testified for the APC candidate, describing the action as “perverse”, adding that none of the witnesses called by the PDP and its candidate gave valid evidence that the tribunal could have acted on.
“On the whole, I hold that this appeal has merit and succeeds, the majority judgment of the tribunal delivered on October 2 is hereby dismissed,” the court ruled.
Eric Odo, chairman of Igbo Etiti LGA of Enugu state, has appointed Ezeugwu Ogbonna as senior special assistant on agriculture (yam and pepper).
The appointment is contained in a letter dated November 1 and addressed to Ogbonna.
“I am pleased to inform you that the executive chairman Igbo Etiti LGA has approved your appointment as senior special assistant to the local government chairman on agriculture (yam and pepper),” the letter reads.
“You should report to the executive chairman Igbo Etiti LGA, Ogbede, for briefing and deployment.
“It is pertinent to note that this is not a career civil service appointment but a temporary appointment which you hold at the pleasure of the executive chairman of Igbo Etiti LGA.”
Odo also appointed Nwodo Ugonna as special adviser on garden egg and pepper.
The council chairman did not outline the specific duties of the appointees.
Ayodele Olorunfemi, candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the Ondo governorship election, says Peter Obi and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) ruined his chances of winning.
On Sunday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Lucky Aiyedatiwa, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as winner of the poll.
The governor secured 366,781 votes in all 18 LGAs to defeat his closest rival Agboola Ajayi, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who polled 117,845 votes.
The LP candidate secured 1,162 votes, finishing fifth from bottom in the 17-candidate off-cycle election.
On the eve of the election, INEC substituted Olusola Ebiseni with Olorunfemi.
On September 27, the federal high court in Abuja directed INEC to recognise Ebiseni as the LP candidate.
The party appealed the ruling, and the appellate court struck out the earlier judgment for lack of jurisdiction.
The umpire said it had restored Olorunfemi’s name as the LP candidate in line with the court judgment.
“The commission was yesterday 14th November 2024 served with the certified true copy (CTC) of the judgment of the court of appeal which set aside the judgment of the federal high court (FHC), Abuja division,” the statement reads.
“In obedience to the court order, the commission has restored Olorunfemi Ayodele Festus, whose name was first published as the Labour Party candidate for the 2024 Ondo state governorship election, and uploaded the same to our website for public information.”
In the buildup to the election, Obi endorsed Ebiseni and described him as “someone who believes in a Nigeria rooted in fairness, equity, and justice”.
“It is this conviction that propelled me to travel by road to Ondo state yesterday to campaign alongside our Labour Party Governorship Candidate, Hon. Sola Ebiseni — a candidate I believe possesses the competence and capacity to govern the State effectively,” Obi said.
‘THEY SCUTTLED MY ASPIRATION’
Speaking with PUNCH, Olorunfemi alleged that Obi and NLC sabotaged his governorship bid.
He admitted that his last-minute campaign was poorly organised and ineffectual.
“My campaign for the election was neither here nor there. I have Peter Obi and the NLC to thank for that. They have scuttled my aspirations and chances to win this Ondo election,” Olorunfemi said.
“These people spoilt things for us with that PDP reject they wanted to force on the party. Their insistence on having Ebiseni on the ballot ruined everything for me.
“They just capitalised on the crisis between the Labour Party and the Nigeria Labour Congress to create problems.
“Can you imagine that Ebiseni wrote a letter to the court in my name without my knowledge, saying I have withdrawn from the race? They cannot exclude me from such a position.”
Olorunfemi admitted that he knew his chances of winning were slim after his reinstatement, adding that he is determined to “get his pound of flesh”.
Lucky Aiyedatiwa, Ondo state governor-elect, says he wishes Rotimi Akeredolu, his late principal, was alive to witness his victory.
Aiyedatiwa, the incumbent governor of Ondo, secured victory in all 18 LGAs, garnering 366,781 votes to defeat his closest rival, Agboola Ajayi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who polled 117,845 votes.
Aiyedatiwa took over the leadership of the state after Akeredolu died from protracted prostate cancer in 2023.
Speaking in an interview on Channels Television after his victory, Aiyedatiwa said Akeredolu wanted him as his successor.
“How I wish he was present in that banquet hall when I was declared in the company of other brother governors. That would have been really good, but God knows better,” he said.
“It is so sad and painful that he didn’t live to see the manifestation of what he himself spoke about. I do refer to him sometimes as the man who saw tomorrow.
“He knew that I was going to succeed him as governor. He knew because he wanted me to and was ready to give me the full backing.”
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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.
She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others
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