CELEBRATION broke out in Gusau, the capital of Zamfara State, following the victory of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Bello Mutawalle at the Supreme Court on Friday.
Reports say residents of the city came out into the streets to celebrate the court judgement and commercial motorcycle operators rode around jubilantly holding Mutawalle’s posters.
“I hope the new administration would make life better for the people. I was not surprised at the verdict owing to what has been happening right from the party primaries to date,” the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted a resident, Aliyu Hussain, as saying.
Also expressing his satisfaction at the verdict, the APC factional state chairman, Sirajo Mai-Katako, who belongs to the Kabiru Marafa APC faction, described the judgment as a good development in the nation’s democracy.
Mai-Katako said the Supreme Court judgement has underscored the need for people’s freedom of choice towards those who occupy political offices, noting that the party was more concerned about justice and fairness than it was about producing the governor.
He further urged the people of Zamfara to show total support to the new incoming governor.
Earlier on Friday, the Supreme Court had affirmed the Court of Appeal’s nullification of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the 2019 gubernatorial election in Zamfara State and awarded the sum of N10 million against the party.
Prior to the election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had barred the APC from fielding any candidate because the party had failed to hold its primary election within the window provided by the electoral commission.
However, following an order of a state high court, INEC readmitted the APC for the election, which was won by the party’s governorship candidate, Mukhtar Shehu.
But in a ruling later in March, the Court of Appeal nullified the order of the lower court which reinstated the APC to be part of the election, and held that INEC was right in the first instance to have barred the party from participating in the exercise.
Shehu and the Zamfara APC further appealed the ruling at the Supreme Court and the judgement was given on Friday against them.