BREAKING: Ex-Gov Ayade Loses as Court of Appeal Gives Verdict in Cross River Senatorial Election
- The Court of Appeal in Lagos has dismissed the petition of former Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade, who challenged Jarigbe Jarigbe's victory in the 2023 Cross River North senatorial district election
- The court upheld Jarigbe, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as the winner and ordered Ayade, who ran as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, to pay N500,000 to the incumbent senator
- This decision followed Ayade's loss in the February election, where Jarigbe secured 76,145 votes compared to Ayade's 56,595 votes
Legit.ng journalist Nurudeen Lawal has 9 years of experience covering political campaigns and elections.
Lagos, Nigeria - The Court of Appeal Court sitting in Lagos has dismissed the petition by the former governor of Cross River State, Ben Ayade, challenging the victory of Jarigbe Jarigbe in the Cross River North 2023 senatorial district election.
The court on Saturday, November 4, affirmed Jarigbe of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the election.
Source: Facebook
The court also awarded N500,000 against the former governor, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the election, in favour of the incumbent senator, The Punch reported.
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2023 elections: How Ayade was defeated
Legit.ng recalls that Ayade lost the February election to Senator Jarigbe.
Jarigbe polled 76,145 votes to defeat Ayade, also a former senator, who had 56,595 votes.
Not satisfied with the outcome of the poll, the former governor filed a petition at the Cross River State National Assembly Election Petitions sitting in Calabar.
However, the tribunal affirmed Jarigbe as the winner and dismissed Ayade’s petition for lack of merit.
His efforts to get a favourable verdict at the appeal court also failed as the court dismissed the petition.
Jarigbe is a two-time member of the House of Representatives. He was elected into the Senate through a bye-election in September 2021 following the death of Dr Rose Okoh.
Appeal court affirms Danjuma Goje's victory
In a related development, the Court of Appeal in Abuja has affirmed Danjuma Goje's victory as the senator representing the Gombe Central senatorial district.
An appeal by the PDP candidate, Abubakar Aliyu, regarding the February 25 senatorial election was rejected by a three-member panel of judges at the appellate court.
The panel upheld the decision of the National and State House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal in Gombe, which had previously dismissed Aliyu and the PDP's petition against Goje and the APC.
Source: Legit.ng
