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Appeal Court sacks Abba Yusuf as Kano Governor

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An Appeal Court on Friday sitting in Abuja has sacked Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State.

The panel affirmed the tribunal’s decision, headed by Justice Oluyemi Akintan Osadebay, which removed Yusuf on September 20, 2023.

The lower court had invalidated 165,663 votes for Yusuf, who ran with the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), citing their lack of signature or stamp by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The governor’s votes were then reduced to 853,939 while those of Nasir Ganuwa, his All Progressives Congress (APC) rival, remained at 890,705.

Rejecting the tribunal’s decision as unfair and a miscarriage of justice, Yusuf took the matter to the appeal court.

At the court, Wole Olanipekun, SAN, lead for Yusuf, asked that the judgment of the tribunal be set aside.

Kicking against the ruling on ballot papers, the senior lawyer said that was the first time in history that a tribunal would annul an election over non-signing of the back of ballot papers.

He claimed that the tribunal had made an error, asserting that it was unprecedented for a political party to submit a case without including its candidate in the petition, only for the candidate to be declared the winner of the polls.

But Akin Olujimi SAN, counsel for APC, countered him saying the Appeal Court stated emphatically that the non-signing of ballots amounted to electoral malpractice.

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No sane person will go to tribunal over election results, says Melaye

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Dino Melaye, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the just concluded Kogi governorship election, says no sane person will go to the tribunal over the results of an election.

Melaye spoke on Wednesday during a briefing with the media in Abuja.

The politician alleged that the judiciary has been compromised.

“Judiciary is no longer the last hope of the ordinary people,” he said.

“Why should any responsible person go to the tribunal? I have lost complete confidence in the judiciary.”

On November 12, the Independent National Electoral Commission declared Usman Ododo, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the Kogi governorship election.

Ododo polled 446, 237 votes to defeat Murtala Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) who came second with 259,052 votes.

Melaye of the PDP scored 46,362 votes.

During the poll, the PDP candidate had said there were problems in Ogori Magongo LGA and five LGAs in Kogi central.

“That was a huge disappointment because I thought INEC would use this opportunity to redeem its image,” he had said.

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Appeal court dismisses NNPP’s petition, affirms Kefas Agbu as Taraba governor

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The court of appeal in Abuja has affirmed Kefas Agbu, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as the duly elected governor of Taraba state.

Delivering judgment on Tuesday, the appellate court dismissed the appeal filed by Muhammad Yahaya and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) for being defective.

Peter Affen, who delivered the lead judgment, faulted the appellants for transmitting an incomplete record of appeal which cannot be heard.

Agbu had polled 257,926 votes to defeat Yahaya who got 202,277 votes in the election.

Yahaya and his party challenged the result and asked the tribunal to nullify Agbu’s victory on the grounds that the election was marred by non-compliance with the Electoral Act.

They also alleged that Agbu did not get the majority of lawful votes cast.

However, the tribunal led by G.A Sunmonu held that the petitioners failed to prove their allegations.

The NNPP and its candidate went further to appeal the tribunal’s judgment.

However, the appellate court dismissed the appeal for lacking merit.

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Politics

Appeal Court affirms Fubara as Rivers state governor, dismisses Tonye-Cole petition

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An Appeal Court sitting in Lagos State has affirmed the election of Siminalayi Fubara as the governor of Rivers State.

The court dismissed the petition filed by the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Patrick Tonye-Cole, against Fubara of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

In the courtroom on Tuesday, the APC candidate requested that the court order INEC to declare him the winner of the March governorship election in Rivers.

Cole’s case contesting Fubara’s election as governor was initially dismissed by the Rivers State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in October.

Dissatisfied with the tribunal’s judgment, the APC candidate approached the appellate court.

However, the court on Tuesday upheld the Tribunal ruling, which affirmed Fubara’s victory in October.

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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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