REVEALED – Real Reason Why Appeal Court Set Aside Tribunal Judgement, Affirmed Abdullahi Sule As Nasarawa Governor
The Abuja Court of Appeal has overturned the decision of the State Election Petitions Tribunal to sack Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule.
In its judgment on October 2, the tribunal had nullified the governor’s election.
The three-member panel, led by Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam, stated that the tribunal erred by using witness statements not front-loaded within the 21-day period stipulated by law.
The court held that the tribunal acted in grave error and that no petition can be lawfully amended outside the specified 21 days.
The Court of Appeal further emphasized that the Tribunal denied the governor a fair hearing by neglecting to consider and make findings on the jurisdictional issues raised during the petition’s hearing.
Due to the statements not being front-loaded in compliance with the law, the court deemed them a product of illegality with no probate value for a court to act upon.
Additionally, the Court dismissed the over-voting issues used to nullify the election, stating that the allegations were not established by law.
Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam held that the petition by David Ombugadu, the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was null and invalid, emphasizing that the Tribunal unlawfully ignored the jurisdictional issues raised by the governor.
Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam concurred that the denial of a fair hearing against the governor was a serious issue, deeming all decisions of the Tribunal invalid.
Subsequently, the Court of Appeal reversed all orders made against the governor and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), affirming Abdullahi Sule as the lawfully elected governor of Nasarawa State.
INEC had initially declared Sule the winner of the governorship election, as he secured 347,209 votes, defeating David Emmanuel Ombugadu, his closest opponent, who obtained 283,016 votes.
However, the Tribunal, in a split decision on October 2, nullified Sule’s election and upheld Ombugadu as the winner.
