The Supreme Court on Friday affirmed the elections of governors of Plateau, Zamfara, Cross River, Ebonyi and Abia States.
The governors – Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang of Plateau State, Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State, Alex Otti of Abia State, Bassey Otu of Cross River State, and Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State – were in March 2023 declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the winners of the governorship elections in their states.
But their victories were challenged by their rivals from the election petition tribunals to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court, in separate judgements on Friday, affirmed the governors’ victories, after dismissing the appeals filed by their challengers.
Ebonyi
Delivering the lead judgement on the Ebonyi State appeal, a member of the Supreme Court panel, Tijjani Abubakar, resolved all three issues raised in the appeal against the appellant, Chukwuma Odii of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The Supreme Court resolved all three issues in favour of the governor.
An issue that struck at the heart of the case centred on the nomination of Governor Nwifuru by the APC as its candidate for the 18 March governorship election.
Resolving the issue, the justice referenced section 177 of the Nigerian constitution which covers the qualification for contesting the governorship election of a state.
He said the Supreme Court had repeatedly ruled that courts should refrain from the issue of membership of a party.
“The end result is that the appellant failed to provide any evidence to establish the allegation of non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
“The appellant appeal is bound to fall like a pack of cards.
“This appeal is unmeritorious. It is therefore dismissed. The judgement of the Court of Appeal is affirmed,” Mr Abubakar ruled.
Other members of the panel consented to the lead judgement.
Abia
Also affirming Governor Otti’s election, a five-member panel of the Supreme Court dismissed all the arguments raised by Governor Otti’s challenger, Okey Ahiwe of the PDP.
INEC had declared that Mr Otti of the Labour Party polled 175,466 votes to defeat Mr Ahiwe, who garnered 88,529 votes in the 18 March governorship election.
Mr Ahiwe had proceeded to the Abia State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal to challenge the results. But he lost the case. He proceeded to the Court of Appeal which also dismissed the case, prompting him to further appeal to the Supreme Court.
The appellant’s major grouse was that Governor Otti was not a member of the Labour Party as of the time he vied and won the Abia State governorship election. On that basis, the appellant called for the nullification of Mr Otti’s nomination and victory at the poll.
Delivering the lead judgement on the appeal, a member of the Supreme Court panel, Uwani Abba-Aji, dismissed the contention as baseless.
“In fact, this appeal ought not to have come to the Supreme Court. This is a pre-election matter that should have been litigated at the Federal High Court. We have taken this position in several cases,” she ruled.
Resolving other sundry issues, Ms Abba-Aji noted that the appellant’s failure to accompany his petition with the witnesses’ statements oath while filing it at the election tribunal was unacceptable. According to the judge, it was a piecemeal approach to filing an election petition which renders the witness’ statements on oath incompetent.
“This appeal lacks merit and it is hereby dismissed,” Ms Abba-Aji declared, and then declared Mr Otti as the validly elected Governor of Abia State.
The Supreme Court similarly dismissed a sister appeal filed by the APC and its candidate, Ikechi Emenike, to challenge Governor Otti’s victory at the polls.
Mr Emenike had lost his case from the election petition tribunal to the Court of Appeal. The case was further dismissed on Friday.
“The appeal is unmeritorious and vexatious. It is accordingly dismissed,” Ms Abba-Aji ruled on Friday. “There is no need to subvert the political will of the people who voted overwhelmingly for the governor. There is no merit in this appeal. I affirm the concurrent findings of the lower courts.”
Other members of the panel agreed with the lead judgement.
Cross River
Governor Otu of Cross River State also won the challenge to his electoral victory on Friday, after dismissing the appeal filed by the governorship candidate of the PDP, Sandy Onor.
Delivering the lead judgement on the appeal, a member of the five-member panel of the Supreme Court, Helen Ogunwumiju, said Mr Onor’s appeal lacked merit.
The decision affirmed the concurrent judgements of the lower Court of Appeal and the Cross River State Election Petition Tribunal, which had both dismissed his case.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Mr Otu the winner of the 18 March 2023 election. INEC declared that Mr Otu polled a total of 258,619 votes winning in 15 of the 18 local government areas of the state to defeat his closest challenger, Mr Onor, who garnered 179,636 votes.
Mr Onor, a professor, challenged Mr Otu’s victory at the election petition tribunal, lost and then appealed to the Court of Appeal. He lost again at the Court of Appeal. Unrelenting, he proceeded to the Supreme Court to challenge Mr Otu’s election.
At the heart of his case is his contention that Mr Otu, a former member of the PDP, was not a bona fide member of the APC as he was fielded as the candidate of the party and won the election.
But shooting down this argument, Mrs Ogunwumiju, held that, “Section 40 of the constitution guarantees the freedom of association; it is an intrinsic human right which cannot be denied.”
She added that the defection of Governor Otu from the PDP to the APC “is of no consequence.”
She also resolved the allegation of forgery of a secondary school certificate raised against the governor.
She held that no evidence was led by the appellant to show that Governor Otu forged his secondary school certificate.
“The appellant’s case is nonsensical,” Mrs Ogunwumiju ruled, adding, “The appeal is a waste of judicial time. It is hereby dismissed.”
Other members of the panel – Uwani Abba-Aji, Adamu Jauro, Emmanuel Agim, and John Okoro, who led the panel, agreed with the lead decision.
Zamfara
The Supreme Court also on Friday affirmed the election of Dauda Lawal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as Zamfara State Governor.
The apex court set aside the decision of the court of appeal declaring the governorship election in Zamafara State inconclusive.
The tribunal had dismissed the petition of the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Bello Matawalle, challenging the victory of Dauda Lawal of the PDP.
But at the appeal court, the court declared the election in the state inclusive and ordered a rerun in three local government areas which are Maradun, Birnin-Magaji, and Bukkuyum.
The court held that it was wrong for the Independent National Electoral Commission to adopt results from the IReV to declare the winner in the affected LGA, adding that “IReV is not part of the collation system but for viewing purposes.”
Reading the lead judgment at the Supreme Court, Emmanuel Agim described the decision of the appeal court as perverse.
He held that the respondents did not provide substantial evidence to prove their allegations of overvoting, among others.
Agim said, “The court of appeal decision is perverse. Has no evidential foundation. Although the appeal has merit, it succeeds, and it is allowed.
“The order that the election is inclusive is hereby set aside. The election of the appellant is upheld.”
