Live Updates: Appeal Court Delivers Judgement on Nasarawa 2023 Governorship Election
FCT, Abuja - The Court of Appeal in Abuja will deliver its judgement today (Thursday, November 23) on the disputed Nasarawa state governorship election.
Source: Twitter
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Nasarawa governorship election: Summary of appeal court's verdict
- Court of Appeal decides in favour of Governor Sule in the appeal against the tribunal's verdict
- The panel, led by Uchechukwu Onyemenam, declares Sule's election as Nasarawa state governor valid
- Onyemenam notes that PDP and Ombugadu failed to prove allegations of over-voting and criticizss the tribunal for incorrectly concluding that Sule did not secure the majority of valid votes
- The justice dismisses the lower court's majority decision but upholds the dissenting judgment.
Appeal court reverses Nasarawa governor Sule's sack
The appeal court has just reversed the sack of Governor Sule.
A three-member panel of justices unanimously held that the Nasarawa state election petition tribunal erred in law in concluding that Sule did not win the majority of the votes cast in the election.
The appellate court subsequently set aside the tribunal's judgment and affirmed Sule's re-election as the Nasarawa state governor.
How tribunal sacked Governor Sule
Recall that the Nasarawa state governor, Abdullahi Sule of the APC, was sacked by the tribunal.
Sule was declared the winner of the March 18 governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
According to INEC, Sule polled a total of 347,209 votes to defeat his closest opponent, David Ombugadu, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who secured 283,016 votes.
However, the tribunal, in a split decision, sacked him and declared PDP’s Ombugadu winner of the election.
Sule subsequently approached the appeal court to seek redress.
Top APC politicians arrive Supreme Court
Top All Progressives Congress (APC) politicians have arrived the Court of Appeal in Abuja for the hearing on the Nasarawa state governorship poll.
Some of them are:
- Former APC National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu
- Nasarawa Deputy Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Akabe
- Former Information Minister, Labaran Maku
