From Gyang Bere, Jos
The National Assembly and State Houses Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal sitting in Jos affirmed on Monday the election of Senator Nora Ladi Daduut of the All Progressive Congress (APC) as the winner of Plateau South senatorial bye-election election, defeating the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Hon Gorge Fails.
Delivering the judgment, the three-man tribunal headed by Justice DA Akhobe dismissed the petition filed by George Daika of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for lack of merit.
Daika had challenged the declaration of (Sen Daduut) by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the winner of the Plateau South senatorial bye-election held on December 5 last year.
Reacting to the judgement, Sen Daduut said: ‘I want to express my heartfelt appreciation to the people of Plateau South for the mandate given to me. I am honoured and humbled for the trust you place in me.
‘For the ruling of the tribunal, I give thanks to the Almighty God, the victory is for the people of Plateau South who trooped out en masse last year to elect me as their representative at the upper chamber. I want to assure them that today’s ruling will further spur me to work relentlessly on their behalf to help address challenges facing our constituency.
‘The ruling is also another testament that the judiciary upholds fairness and justice. I want to say that with the judgment of today, we are once again reassured of the impartiality of the judiciary as they continue to uphold the ethos of equity and rule of law. I have the conviction that the ruling will further strengthen democracy not only in Plateau State but Nigeria as a whole.
‘The victory of today is for all of us and for my brother Hon. George Daika I want to say there’s no Victor and there’s no vanquished. Let’s join hands to advance the development of Plateau South.’
She appreciated Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong and the APC for their support.