THE governorship election petition tribunal sitting in Lafia, Nasarawa State, has sacked Abdullahi Sule as governor of Nasarawa state and declared David Ombugadu, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as duly elected.
Sule is from the All Progressives Congress (APC).
UPDATE
The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Nasarawa has nullified the election of Abdullahi Sule of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as governor and declared Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) David Ombugadu as the winner.
Two justices out of three ruled on Monday, October 2, that Ombugadu won the election, while one dissented.
In the judgement delivered virtually, the panel chairman, Ezekiel Ajayi, argued that there was no room for reasonable doubt, and the petitioner’s evidence was convincingly made.
The tribunal had earlier dismissed the petition filed by the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) challenging the declaration of Sule for lacking in merit.
Commenting on the judgement via his X account, the PDP presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Atiku Abubakar, congratulated Ombugadu and said the people’s will should be upheld.
“Elections are the cornerstone of democracy, and the people’s will, once determined, should always be upheld,” Atiku said.
Also reacting to the judgment, former Senate President Bukola Saraki said Ombugadu’s victory was a resounding affirmation of the people’s will,
“And it serves as a reminder that democracy is and must always be the bedrock of our nation,” he tweeted.
Sule ran for re-election but encountered fierce resistance from the PDP and other parties which participated in the March 18 poll.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Sule the election winner with 347,209 votes, Ombugadu came second with 283,016 votes, while Abdullahi Maidoya of the NNPP had 11,726 votes.
A reporter with the ICIR
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