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Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The Supreme Court in separate judgments, yesterday, affirmed the election of Seyi Makinde (Oyo; Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Lagos; Nasir el-Rufai, Kaduna; Udom Emmanuel, Akwa Ibom; Abdulahi Sule, Nasarawa; David Umahi, Ebonyi; Dapo Abiodun, Ogun; and Aminu Masari of Katsina.
In affirming Makinde’s election, the Supreme Court agreed with the submissions of Chief Wole Olanipekun that the majority judgment of the Court of Appeal which nullified the judgment of the Oyo State Election Petition Tribunal was flawed.
In a four-to-one majority judgment, the Court of Appeal had voided the tribunal’s judgment on the grounds that its decision was perverse because the petitioner, Adebayo Adelabu, of the All Progressive Congress (APC) was denied fair hearing in the matter.
Makinde had appealed the judgment of the Court of Appeal which had set aside the judgment of the tribunal which upheld his election as governor of Oyo State.
In another judgment, the Court upheld the election of Sanwo-Olu. A seven-man panel of the apex court led by Justice Mary Peter Odili affirmed his victory after dismissing two appeals challenging the outcome of the poll. Justice Paul Galinje, who delivered the lead judgments held that the appeals lacked merit.
One of the appeals dismissed by the court was filed by Prof. Ifagbemi Awamaridi and his party, the Labour Party. The other was by Chief Owolabi Salis and his party, the Alliance Democracy.
Similarly, the apex court upheld the submissions of Prince Lateef Fagbemi, that the first respondent, Bello Masari, was eminently qualified for the governorship election in Katsina State.
Justice Peter-Odili, while delivering the lead judgment held that the appeal by Senator Yakubu Lado, was devoid of merit and substance, and accordingly upheld the concurrent judgment of the tribunal and Appeal Court which upheld the election of Masari.
In another unanimous decision, the court held that the appeal filed by Isa Hashiru, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenging the victory of el-Rufai of the All Progressive Congress (APC) lacked merit.
The court also dismissed the prayer of the PDP candidate in Nasarawa State, David Ombugadu, challenging the election of Abdullahi Sule of the APC for lacking in merit.
According to the apex court, the appellants failed to substantiate their claims of irregularities and substantial non compliance with the electoral laws.
The judgment also noted that the two appellants did not show evidence to warrant the setting aside of the concurrent decisions of the tribunal and Appeal Court.
On Akwa Ibom, the apex court dismissed the appeal of Nsima Ekere, governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), challenging the election of Emmanuel.
Odili said Ekere’s “appeal lacks merit and it’s accordingly dismissed.”
On Ebonyi, Amina Adanu-Augie dismissed the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) and Ajah Agha.
The petitioners had claimed that INEC had unlawfully excluded the name of the PDM candidate from the ballot paper. But their appeal was dismissed for lacking merit.
Masari was also affirmed as the governor of Katsina state. Inyang Okoro dismissed the appeal of Yakubu Lado and the PDP which sought the removal of Masari on grounds that he was not qualified to contest the election because he submitted fake documents to INEC.
It was also a victory song for the APC in Ogun as the apex court dismissed the case filed against the election of Dapo Abiodun. The court said the applicant, Adekunle Akinlade of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), failed to prove his allegation against the governor.
In a judgement by Justice Dattijo Mohammed, the court said the applicants did not prove their allegations of non-compliance to the electoral laws.
Akinlade had challenged the decision of the Court of Appeal which dismissed his petition against Mr. Abiodun’s election.
Justice Mary Peter-Odili, also dismissed the appeal by David Ombugadu and the PDP and upheld the election of Abdullahi Sule as governor of Nasarawa State..
The seven-man panel held that the appeal by Ombugadu lacked merit. In a statement, Sule called on residents of the state to unite across party lines and join hands with his administration to develop the state.
Chairman of the PDP in Oyo State, Alhaji Kunmi Mustapha said the confirmation of Makinde’s victory reflected the wishes of Oyo indigenes.
