Appeal Court Sacks Zamfara Governor, Orders Rerun In 3 LGAs
- Declares election inconclusive
BY SEGUN ADEBAYO – The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has voided the election of Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State and declared as inconclusive the governorship poll held in the State on March 18, 2023.
In a unanimous decision by a three-member panel of Justices, the Court nullified the victory of Governor Lawal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the gubernatorial contest and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct fresh polls in three Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state, where elections did not hold previously or where results from various polling units were not counted.
The affected Local Government Areas where the electoral umpire is expected to conduct the fresh polls are Maradun, Birnin Magaji and Bukuyun.
The lead judgement read by Justice Sybil Nwaka held that it was wrong for INEC to rely on information it obtained from its IReV portal to collate the final result of the governorship election.
The judgement followed an appeal that was lodged before the court by the immediate past governor of the state, Bello Matawalle, who was the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the election.
Matawalle, who is now Minister of State for Defence, had challenged the victory at the Tribunal which upheld Lawal’s election, and dissatisfied he proceeded to the Appeal Court for justice.
