THE Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) challenging the victory of the Kaduna state governor and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Uba Sani, at the 2023 governorship election.
In a judgment delivered on Friday, January 19, the court described the appeal as frivolous, vexatious and without merit.
“The appeal is frivolous, vexatious, and irritating. It, therefore, deserves to be dismissed, and it is hereby dismissed,” Supreme Court Justice Tijjani Abubakar, who delivered the lead judgment held.
Sani’s victory at the polls was challenged by the PDP candidate, Ashiru Isa, who approached the Kaduna State Election Petitions Tribunal to annul the election outcome.
The PDP alleged that the election was rigged and Sani did not secure a majority of the votes cast.
Isa had won in 13 local government areas (LGAs) during the elections while Sani cleared 10.
However, Sani secured 730,002 votes, defeating Isa, who followed closely with a total of 719,196.
The tribunal upheld Sani’s election in a judgment delivered by a three-member panel led by Victor Oviawe.
It stated that Isa and the PDP could not establish their claims that the election was rigged.
The tribunal also ruled that Isa’s appeal lacked merit because the filing of pre-hearing notice “was abandoned and out of time, and therefore had dealt the entire petition a fatal blow.”
On November 24, 2023, the Court of Appeal affirmed Sani’s election and upheld the tribunal’s ruling.
The Appeal Court held that the PDP did not prove its allegations of election rigging, adding that the party’s key witnesses only testified based on hearsay.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via vopara@icirnigeria.org or @ije_le on Twitter.