Supreme Court affirms Sokoto, Rivers, Taraba govs’ election

The Supreme Court affirmed the elections of the governors of Sokoto, Rivers, and Taraba states on Thursday.

In Sokoto state, a unanimous judgment from a five-member panel of justices, led by Justice Tijjani Abubakar, affirmed Ahmed Aliyu as the Governor of Sokoto State.

The apex court dismissed an appeal by Saidu Umar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), challenging Aliyu’s election, stating that the appellants failed to demonstrate the perverseness of the judgments from the Sokoto State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal. Justice Abubakar ruled the appeal as incompetent and lacking in merit.

Umar and the PDP, dissatisfied with the concurrent judgments, had appealed to the Supreme Court, seeking to overturn the decisions that validated Aliyu’s victory in the March 18, 2023, Sokoto State governorship election.

In Rivers state, the Supreme Court also affirmed the election of Governor Siminalayi Fubara. Justice Ibrahim Saulawa dismissed the appeal by Tonye Cole of the All Progressives Congress (APC), stating it was incompetent and lacked merit.

Saulawa held that Cole failed to prove allegations of over-voting, non-compliance, and non-qualification of Fubara.

The apex court upheld the judgments of the Rivers state governorship election petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal, which had earlier dismissed Cole’s appeal for lacking merit.

Cole had contested Fubara’s victory, alleging corrupt practices and non-compliance with the Electoral Act.

He also claimed that Fubara did not validly resign his previous position in the state before the election and urged the tribunal to nullify Fubara’s Certificate of Return.

In Taraba state, the Supreme Court affirmed the election of Governor Kefas Agbu. A unanimous judgment by a five-member panel, led by Justice Garba Lawal, dismissed an appeal by Yahaya Sani of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) for being incompetent and lacking in merit.

Justice Lawal pointed out the appellants’ failure to provide tangible evidence that the Court of Appeal and the Taraba state Governorship Election Petition Tribunal were perverse in dismissing their case.

The apex court affirmed the concurrent judgments of the lower courts that upheld Agbu’s victory in the March 18, 2023, governorship election in Taraba State.

The Court of Appeal had earlier affirmed Agbu’s election, dismissing NNPP’s appeals for lacking merit. The appellate court faulted the appellant for not proving allegations of non-compliance, irregularities, and malpractices, and emphasized the importance of oral evidence.

The Taraba state Governorship Election Petition Tribunal had also dismissed NNPP’s petition on September 30, deeming it lacking in merit.