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Linus Oota , Lafia and Tunde Omolehin, Sokoto
Anxiety has gripped the camps of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as the Election Petition Tribunal has fixed judgment for Saturday.
The PDP governorship candidate, David Umbugadu, is contesting Governor Abdullahi Sule’s victory.
He is asking the tribunal to nullify the election and order fresh election.
Despite the commendation that greeted the conduct of the governorship poll won by the APC, it appears that the party and its faithful are not at ease ahead of the judegment.
On the other hand, PDP members have been boasting that the tribunal will nullify the election and order a fresh poll.
The PDP in the state also maintain that the tribunal is not the final arbiter on the matter, and that should they lose on Saturday, they have the option of proceeding to the Appeal Court.
The PDP and its candidate through their lawyer Wale Olanikpekum (SAN) in asking the court to order a fresh election in the state, said INEC did not comply with the accreditation requirement in more than 90 per cent of the polling units in the state.
The PDP counsel said the party and its candidate tendered certified true copies of voters register to the tribunal, adding that the total votes that returned the governor did not tally with the number of accredited voters.
State secretary for the APC, Aliyu Bello, expressed confidence that the tribunal will affirm their victory.
Governor Sule and the APC through their lawyers, Hassan Liman (SAN) and Adebayo Adelogun have urged the tribunal to dismiss the PDP petition for lacking in merit.
Meanwhile, the National and States Assemblies Elections Petitions Tribunal in Sokoto has upheld the election of the House Leader, Sokoto State House of Assembly, Bello Isa Ambarura, who also represents Illela Constituency on the platform of the APC.
The tribunal dismissed the petition filed against Ambarura by the PDP candidate, Dayyabu Adamu Kalmalo.
Kalmalo had challenged the declaration of Ambarura as winner.
Kalmalo told the tribunal that Ambarura was not duly elected, having not scored the majority of the lawful votes cast.
He also alleged that there was substantial non-compliance with electoral laws, which affected the outcome of the poll.
In his judgment, Justice I. Iwodi, dismissed the petition for lack of merit as the petitioners failed to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt and relied on hearsay evidences.
