elections in Oyo, Kaduna, and Nasarawa states.
The court upheld the elections after listening to separate appeals
regarding the outcomes.
Seyi Makinde Wins
The Supreme Court on Wednesday affirmed the election victory of Seyi
Makinde of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as Oyo State governor.
In a unanimous judgment, the Apex Court found merit in the appeal filed
by Mr. Makinde that the majority judgment of the Appeal Court was a
miscarriage of justice.
The Appeal Court had earlier ruled against the Oyo election tribunal
which dismissed the petition by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and
its candidate, Adebayo Adelabu.
Governor Makinde urged the Apex Court to set aside the decision of the
court of Appeal and restore the judgment of the tribunal which affirmed
his election as the governor of Oyo State.
After listening to both counsels, the panel headed by Justice Ejembi Eko
went on a short recess and returned to deliver the judgment.
The court, therefore, affirmed the majority judgment of the tribunal
which upheld the election of Makinde as the duly elected governor of Oyo
State.
El-Rufai Triumphs
In the case of Kaduna state governorship election, Mr Isa Ashiru, the
candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had approached the
Supreme Court challenging the election victory of Nasir El-Rufai.
However, in a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Centus Nweze, the
appeal filed by Ashiru was dismissed for lacking in merit.
Victory For Abdullahi Sule
Also in Nasarawa State, the Supreme Court upheld the election of
Governor Abdullahi Sule.
A seven-man panel of the apex court led by Justice Mary Peter-Odili
dismissed the appeal filed by David Ombugadu and the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) to challenge Sule’s victory at the March 9, 2019 election.
The court held that the appellant failed to prove allegations of
substantial non-compliance in the election.