S’Court affirms election victories of Makinde, el-Rufai, 6 others
.PDP relishes Apex Court’s affirmation of Makinde, Emmanuel’s elections
The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the election of Gov Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Gov Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State, Gov. Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State and the election of six other state governors.
The apex court in a unanimous judgment held that the various governors were lawfully elected as governors of their respective states on March 9 governorship election.
It allowed the appeal filed by Governor Makinde whose election was nullified by the split decision of an Ibadan Division of Court of Appeal.
The apex court agreed with the submissions of Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) that the majority judgment of the Court of Appeal which nullified the judgment of the 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 the grounds that the tribunal decision was perverse because the petitioner, Adebayo Adelabu, of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was denied fair hearing in the matter.
However, the apex court upheld the submissions of Olanipekun that the tribunal’s judgment was in order and that no party was denied fair hearing throughout the period of the hearing.
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Delivering the lead judgment of the apex court, Justice Ejembi Eko agreed with the senior lawyer that the majority judgment was not in line with the position of the law, unlike that of the minority judgment which he said was more sober.
Justice Eko therefore allowed the appeal, set aside the judgment of the lower court and restored the decision of the tribunal as prayed by the appellant.
Makinde had appealed the judgment of the Court of Appeal following the decision that set aside the judgment of the Oyo State Governorship election petition tribunal.
In the Katsina case, the apex court upheld the submissions of Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), that the first respondent, Bello Masari was eminently qualified for the March 9 governorship election.
The court also agreed with Fagbemi that the appellant did not challenge the basic qualification of the governor, other than mere allegations of submitting false information to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for his clearance for the said election.
Justice Mary Peter-Odili, while delivering the lead judgment held that the appeal by Senator 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 as governor of Katsina State.
Others whose election were also upheld are that of Governor Nasir el-Rufai and Governor Abdullahi Sule, Kaduna and Nasarawa states respectively.
The apex court in its unanimous judgment held that the appeal filed by Isa Hashiru, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the March 9 governorship election challenging the victory of el-Rufai of the All Progressives Congress (APC) lacked merit.
Similarly, that of another PDP candidate in Nasarawa State, David Ombugadu against the election of Governor Abdullahi Sule of the APC was also dismissed for lacking merit.
According to the judgment of the apex court, the appellants in the two different appeals 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.
The Supreme Court accordingly upheld the election of both el-Rufai and Sule as Governors of Kaduna and Nasarawa States respectively.
Others whose election were also affirmed are Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, Governor Udom Gabriel Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State and Governor David Nweze Umahi of Ebonyi State.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has hailed the Supreme Court’s affirmation of the election of Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State, as inevitable triumph of the will of the people over undemocratic individuals seeking to forcefully take control of their states.
The party said the judgment, which came despite the lies, schemes, and machination by those who viciously sought to suppress the verdict of the ballot box and appropriate the states for their selfish purposes, also showcased the popularity of the two governors as well as the party, the PDP, in the two states.
The PDP noted that the outburst of jubilations in Oyo and Akwa Ibom states further confirms that the verdict of the judgement is in consonance with the expectation of the people, who freely gave their mandates to Governors Seyi Makinde and Udom Emmanuel.
“The jubilation also manifests the joy of the people given the demonstrated capacity and commitment by the two governors in delivering good governance in all sectors of life in their states.
“In Akwa-Ibom, the people are proud of Governor Emmanuel’s record of achievements in critical sectors including manufacturing, education, healthcare, aviation, agriculture, tourism as well as his unique industrialization initiatives for the benefit of the citizens.
“In Oyo State, the people are overjoyed by Governor Makinde’s novel development initiatives that have stabilised and repositioned the state for greater productivity in key sectors including education, healthcare, public service reforms, security, infrastructural development and economic empowerment, which has made a huge difference in the life of the people of Oyo State”, the party said.
The PDP urged the governors as well as other officials elected and appointed on its platform to continue in their selfless service to the people, a fact that has remained the marked difference between them and those elected on the platform of other political parties.
