Supreme Court in separate judgments, yesterday, affirmed the election of Mr Seyi Makinde, Oyo; Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Lagos; Mr Nasir el-Rufai, Kaduna; Mr Udom Emmanuel, Akwa Ibom; Mr Abdulahi Sule, Nasarawa; Mr David Umahi, Ebonyi; Mr Dapo Abiodun, Ogun; and Mr Aminu Masari of Katsina.
In affirming Makinde’s election, Supreme Court agreed with the submissions of Mr Wole Olanipekun that the majority judgment of the Court of Appeal which nullified the judgment of Oyo State Election Petition Tribunal was flawed.
In a four-to-one majority judgment, the Court of Appeal had voided the tribunal’s judgment on grounds that its decision was perverse because the petitioner, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, of All Progressive Congress (APC) was denied fair hearing in the matter.
Makinde had appealed the judgment of the Court of Appeal which had set aside the judgment of the tribunal which upheld his election as governor of Oyo State.
In another judgment, the Court upheld the election of Sanwo-Olu. A seven-man panel of the apex court led by Mrs Mary Peter Odili affirmed his victory after dismissing two appeals challenging the outcome of the poll. Mr Paul Galinje, who delivered the lead judgments held that the appeals lacked merit.
One of the appeals dismissed by the court was filed by Mr Ifagbemi Awamaridi and his party, Labour Party. The other was by Mr Owolabi Salis and his party, the Alliance Democracy.
Similarly, the apex court upheld the submissions of Mr Lateef Fagbemi, that the first respondent, Mr Bello Masari, was eminently qualified for the governorship election in Katsina State.
Mrs Peter-Odili, while delivering the lead judgment held that the appeal by Mr Yakubu Lado, was devoid of merit and substance, and accordingly upheld the concurrent judgment of the tribunal and Appeal Court which upheld the election of Masari.
In another unanimous decision, the court held that the appeal filed by Mr Isa Hashiru, candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenging the victory of el-Rufai of All Progressive Congress (APC) lacked merit.
The court also dismissed the prayer of PDP candidate in Nasarawa State, Mr David Ombugadu, challenging the election of Sule of APC for lacking in merit.
According to the apex court, the appellants failed to substantiate their claims of irregularities and substantial non compliance with the electoral laws.
The judgment also noted that the two appellants did not show evidence to warrant the setting aside of the concurrent decisions of the tribunal and Appeal Court.
On Akwa Ibom, the apex court dismissed the appeal of Mr Nsima Ekere, governorship candidate of APC, challenging the election of Emmanuel.
Odili said Ekere’s “appeal lacks merit and it’s accordingly dismissed.”
On Ebonyi, Mrs Amina Adanu-Augie dismissed the appeal filed by Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) and Ajah Agha.
The petitioners had claimed that INEC had unlawfully excluded the name of PDM candidate from the ballot paper. But their appeal was dismissed for lacking merit.
Masari was also affirmed as governor of Katsina state. Mr Inyang Okoro dismissed the appeal of Yakubu Lado and PDP which sought the removal of Masari on grounds that he was not qualified to contest the election because he submitted fake documents to INEC.
It was also a victory song for the APC in Ogun as the apex court dismissed the case filed against the election of Dapo Abiodun. The court said the applicant, Mr Adekunle Akinlade of Allied Peoples Movement (APM), failed to prove his allegation against the governor.
In a judgement by Mr Dattijo Mohammed, the court said the applicants did not prove their allegations of non-compliance to the electoral laws.
Akinlade had challenged the decision of the Court of Appeal which dismissed his petition against Mr Abiodun’s election.
Sun