BREAKING: Tribunal Gives Judgement on Opposition Parties' Petitions Against Gombe Gov, Inuwa Yahaya

• The Gombe State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal has struck out petitions filed by the ADC and its candidate in the 2023 poll, Nafiu Bala
• The tribunal also dismissed the petition filed by the PDP and its flagbearer, Mohammed Barde
• Legit.ng recalls that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Inuwa Yahaya (APC) the winner of the 2023 Gombe State gubernatorial election

Gombe, Gombe State - The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has dismissed the petition filed by the African Democratic Congress (ADC), challenging the election of Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya as governor and his deputy, Manassah Jatau.

According to Vanguard newspaper, the tribunal affirmed Governor Inuwa’s victory in the March 2023 election.

Gombe election: Tribunal upholds Inuwa’s victory

ADC contested the declaration and return of Inuwa Yahaya, citing alleged discrepancies in the arrangement of names on the certificates of his deputy. However, the tribunal struck out the case, saying it is a pre-election matter, Nigerian Tribune noted.

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One of the tribunal's judges, Justice S.B. Belgore, said:

"I affirm that the petition by the African Democratic Congress ADC against the return of Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya as the duly elected governor of Gombe State lacks merit on all fronts and that the election of the first and second respondents as winners of the March 18th guber polls is valid and lawful."

Apart from the case of the ADC that was struck out, the tribunal also discarded the petition submitted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday, September 26.

The PDP had alleged that there were electoral malpractices and that Yahaya was not elected by a majority of lawful votes cast.

The tribunal rejected the petition due to 'the failure of petitioners to provide witnesses and proofs to drive home their legal challenge'.

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INEC announces winner of Gombe election

In a piece of related news, Legit.ng reported that Governor Yahaya was declared the winner of the Saturday, March 18 election.

The State Returning Officer for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Memuna Waziri who announced the results said, Yahaya scored 342,821 to defeat PDP’s Barde who garnered 233,131.

Source: Legit.ng