By Miracle Ogunde
As the supreme Court of Nigeria delivered judgements on some appeals filed against the decisions of election petition tribunals and Court of Appeals on the March 18 gubernatorial election in 8 states namely: Kano, Lagos, Bauchi, Zamfara, Ebonyi, Plateau Cross River and Abia, Starnews NG correspondent who monitored the rulings today made a compilation of the winners as declared by the Apex Court.
Here are the winners so far in following the judgement of the Supreme Court delivered today:
●Governor Abba Yusuf (NNPP), Kano
Starnews NG reports that Governor Abba Yusuf of the New Nigeria People’s Party, (NNPP) was declared winner of the Kano governorship election, after the Supreme Court reversed the judgement of the Court of Appeal on November 17, 2023, which upheld the tribunal’s verdict and declared Yusuf Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the winner of the election.
There were lots of skins in the state with some party loyalists protesting against the judgment of the appeal court sacking the governor.
With the judgement now delivered, it is believed that normalcy will return to the state and put to rest all forms of agitations and grievances.
●Governor Sanwo-Olu (APC), Lagos
No one would expect that the Supreme Court would give an otherwise judgement as opposed to the one delivered by the court of appeal which upheld the election of Babajide Sanwo-Olu as the duly elected governor of the state. A panel of Justices of the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the Sanwo-Olu’s election, after dismissing the separate appeals filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party with their governorship candidates, Abdul-Azeez Adediran, popularly known as Jandor, and Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour respectively. Lagos has always been regarded as an APC governed state considering the influence of Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu.
●Governor Bala Mohammed (PDP) -Bauchi
The apex court, on Friday, January 12, 2023 affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeal and dismissed the appeal by Sadique Abubakar of the All Progressives Congress for lacking in merit.
●Governor Dauda Lawal (PDP) -Zamfara
The Supreme Court also upheld the election of Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State. The apex court in its ruling vacated the November 16, 2023 judgement of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, which declared the governorship election that was held in the state on March 18, as inconclusive.
The court held that Lawal, who was the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, secured the majority of lawful votes and was rightly declared the winner of the gubernatorial contest by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
●Governor Nwifuru (APC) -Ebonyi
The supreme court in its Friday ruling affirmed the election of Francis Nwifuru as Ebonyi state governor. Ifeanyi Odii of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had challenged the election of Nwifuru on the grounds of electoral malpractice.
Odii in his appeal said Nwifuru was not properly sponsored by his political party for the March 2023 election. The apex Court on Friday, held that “the appeal” was always going “to fall like a pack of cards”, saying “It is unmeritorious and is dismissed.”
●Governor Caleb Mutfwang (PDP) -Plateau
Reading the judgment of the apex court on Friday, Justice Emmanuel Agim held that the APC and its candidate are not members of the PDP and cannot challenge the primary election of the PDP, thereby upholding the election of Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang as the duly elected governor of the state.
●Bassey Otu (APC) -Cross River
The Supreme Court, in separate judgements on Friday, affirmed the governors’ victories, after dismissing the appeals filed by their challengers.
Delivering the lead judgement on the Ebonyi State appeal, a member of the Supreme Court panel, Tijjani Abubakar, resolved all three issues raised in the appeal against the appellant, Chukwuma Odii of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The apex Court resolved all three issues in favour of the governor. An issue that struck at the heart of the case centred on the nomination of Governor Nwifuru by the APC as its candidate for the 18 March governorship election.
●Alex Otti (LP), Abia State
The Supreme Court, on Friday, also affirmed Mr Alex Otti of the Labour Party, LP, as the valid winner of the governorship election held in Abia State on March 18.
The apex court, in a unanimous decision by a five-member panel of justices, dismissed two separate appeals that sought to nullify Otti’s election victory.
In its lead judgement read by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, the apex court held that the appeal of the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Okey Ahiwe, and his counterpart in the All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief Ikechi Emenike, brought before it lacked merit.
The above judgements delivered by the apex Court of Nigeria has now put to rest different accusations raised by the concerned parties against winners of the March 18, 2024 gubernatorial election as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC).
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