The Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld the judgement of the Gombe State Governorship Election Tribunal, which repudiated the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party –PDP, challenging the election win of Governor Inuwa Yahaya of the All Progressives Congress, –APC.
While delivering judgement on Thursday, the Law Court sided with the Tribunal saying that the PDP’s case lacked value.
Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission, —INEC, had on March 18 declared Governor Yahaya as the APC winner of the Governorship Election with 342,821 votes.
Muhammad Jibrin Barde of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had on the other hand, polled a total of 233,131 votes.
Afterwards, Barde had approached the Tribunal protesting that the governorship elections in the state had not complied with the provisions of the Electoral Act.
His lawyers asserted that the PDP candidate polled the majority of the lawful votes cast during the ballot, claiming that several thumb printing and ballot box stuffing had occurred in nine local government areas of the state in favour of Governor Inuwa Yahaya.
But today, the three-man panel of the tribunal rejected the PDP’s application, citing a lack of merit.
The tribunal further annuled the witnesses’ statements and exhibits of the PDP (e.g INEC forms) for having no value.
