The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship of Kaduna State has been confirmed by the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
A three-member panel of the appellate court ruled on Friday that the tribunal erred when it relied on inadmissible evidence to order supplementary polls in 22 polling units of four local government areas (LGAs) where the election was deemed inconclusive.
According to the court, a crucial witness called by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the tribunal hearing only provided hearsay evidence because he was not present when the alleged malpractices occurred.
The appeal court held that the allegations of deduction of votes, stuffing of ballot boxes, and mutilation of sensitive electoral materials made by the said witness were born out of hearsay.
The court also held that the tribunal was right in dismissing the petition of the PDP and Isa Ashiru because the petitioners had abandoned their petition for their failure to apply for the issuance of a pre-hearing information sheet after close of pleadings as required by paragraph 18(1) of the first schedule to the Electoral Act 2022.