Supreme Court Upholds Ganduje, Tambuwal’s Elections

• Decision on Bauchi, Plateau by 3pm

The mounting tension and anxiety over likely outcomes of appeals against the elections of Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and his Sokoto State counterpart,  Aminu Tambuwal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have finally  been laid to rest.

Thanks to the Supreme Court judgments today. Monday, January 20, 2020 upholding the election of both Ganduje and Tambuwal as duly elected Governors of their respective States during the March 9, 2019 gubernatorial polls

A seven-man panel of the apex court in a unanimous judgment on the appeal filed by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Abba Kabir Yusuf against the concurrent rulings of both the Election Petition Tribunal and Court of Appeal, dismissed the case for being unmeritorious.

Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, in the lead judgment, held that the appellant failed to provide any cogent reason to warrant the setting aside of the earlier decisions of the lower courts, which upheld the election of Governor Ganduje.

On the election of Governor Tambuwal, the Supreme Court also maintained that the appellant, Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto who contested the election as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) failed to prove his petition.

Justice Uwani Abba-Aji (SAN), in the lead judgment, that was unanimously adopted by the seven-man panel of the court, upheld the concurrent decisions of the election tribunal and Court of Appeal.

According to the panel, the appellants failed to provide cogent reasons to warrant the court discarding the earlier decisions of the two lower courts.

It also dismissed the cross-appeal filed by Tambuwal on the grounds that having dismissed the main appeal (marked: SC/1466/2019), the cross-appeal (marked: SC/1467/2019 has become a mere academic exercise

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court adjourned and scheduled its rulings for 3 pm in the appeals challenging the election of Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State and his Bauchi State counterpart, Alhaji Bala Mohammed.

A seven-man panel of the court led by Justice Sylvester Ngwuta stood down proceedings after lawyers to parties in the appeals adopted their written briefs and prayed the court to grant their clients’ prayers.

Members of the panel include: Justices Olukayode Ariwoola, Paul Galumje and Daittijo Mohammed. Others are Justices Amina Augie, Uwani Abba-Aji and Amiru Sanusi.