Godwin Tsa Abuja

The Supreme Court will tomorrow deliver judgment in the appeals challenging the election of Governors  Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, his Sokoto State counterpart, Aminu Tambuwal and Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State.

The court had last week after taking arguments,  deferred judgment in the appeals of the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Abba Yusuf against Governor Ganduje of Kano State and that of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Sokoto State, Ahmed Aliyu against the election of Governor Tambuwal till today.

The court had last week sacked Emeka Ihedioha as Imo State governor and replaced him with Senator Hope Uzodinma in a judgment that triggered serious controversy across the globe.

Ever since the judgment, there has been  tension in the country especially among the state governors whose election are being challenged at the Supreme Court.

In the case of Bauchi state, hearing in the appeal by the APC candidate and former governor of the state,  Mohammed Abubakar against Governor Bala Mohammed will commence tomorrow at the court.

The appellant, Abubakar, had lost at both the tribunal and the Court of Appeal where his election petition against the incumbent governor was dismissed for lacking in merit.

In his appeal at the apex court, Abubakar had urged the court to set aside the concurrent findings of the tribunal and the Court of Appeal over alleged miscarriage of justice.

But counsel to Governor Bala Mohammed, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), has expressed confidence that his client will still triumph at the apex court.

Meanwhile, there are two appeals  in the Sokoto State dispute. The main appeal was filed by the APC candidate, Ahmed Aliyu, while the incumbent, Aminu Tambuwal, of the PDP, filed a cross-appeal.

Tambuwal, who contested the election on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party, emerged the winner of the election with a slim margin after a second-round poll.

Aliyu had challenged the Tambuwal’s victory at both the election petition tribunal and the Court of Appeal and lost.

He further appealed to the Supreme Court asking it to set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal and declare him as winner of the election.

Specifically, Aliyu had through  his counsel, Dr. Alex Iziyon (SAN), approached the apex court to set aside the judgment of the Election Petition Tribunal and Appeal Court affirming the election of Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of the PDP.

Justice Ibrahim Mohammad who presided over the seven-member panel had stood down the appeal for judgment after counsel representing parties in the suit adopted and argued their briefs of argument in the appeal.

Justice Muhammad said due to time constraints, judgment would now be delivered on January 20.

Earlier, the apex court had also fixed January 20 for judgment in the appeal seeking the sacking of Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje.

The appeal filed by Alhaji Abbah Yusuf of the PDP is seeking to set aside the decision of the Court of Appeal, which affirmed Ganduje as lawfully elected as governor of Kano State.

In arguing the appeal, Yusuf’s lawyer, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), urged the court to nullify the election of Ganduje on the grounds that his victory was based on a purported illegal by-election conducted in 207 polling units.

Awomolo told the Supreme Court that the state returning officer who had conducted the by-election in the affected polling units lacked the legal powers to do so.

He added that the state returning officer after declaring the entire results of election in the 44 local government areas of Kano State was wrong to have gone ahead to cancel elections in 207 polling units and conducting a by-election thereafter.

However, the respondents in their various submissions urged the court to dismiss the appeal on the grounds that the state returning officer did not cancel elections in 207 polling units as claimed by the appellants.

Counsel to INEC, Mr. Ahmed Raji (SAN) told the apex court that the appellants both at the tribunal and Court of Appeal failed to prove that votes were cancelled in 207 wards.

According to Raji, records only showed the inability of the state returning officer to collate results of the affected polling units, which was occasioned by the action of the appellants own witness, who in his evidence admitted carting away with ballot boxes of Galma wards belonging to the 207 polling units.

Both lawyers to the APC and Ganduje aligned themselves with Raji and urged the court to dismiss the appeal for lacking merit.

Justice Muhammad, after listening to submissions of all counsel, announced that judgment would be delivered on January 20, 2020.

Before the judgment that sacked former Governor Ihedioha, the Supreme Court had delivered judgments in appeals against the election of 13 governors and upheld their victories.

The appeals are those involving Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi, Kaduna, Katsina, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ogun, Oyo and Rivers affirming the election of the governors.

Others are Abia, Delta, Niger and Taraba states.