The Kano State Governorship Election Tribunal presided over by Justice Halima Shamaki has upheld the election of Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje and dismissed the petition of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Abba Kabir-Yusuf.
Gov. Ganduje described his victory at the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in the state as “another round of victory” for electorate in Kano.
The Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Malam Abba Anwar made this known in a statement in Kano on Wednesday, following the tribunal’s judegment upholding the governor’s election.
The governor’s aide quoted the Ganduje as saying that the ruling is another round of victory as truth prevails again, following the March 23 supplementary polls as ‘elected governor ‘
“When the election was held we won and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) decided to challenge our victory in an election tribunal.
“It is clear to all now that, our victory is genuine, as being confirmed by the Tribunal,” the statement said.
Also, the Sokoto State Election Tribunal has affirmed the victory of Aminu Tambuwal as governor of the state.
The tribunal on Wednesday dismissed the petition of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate, Mr. Ahmed Aliyu for lacking in merit and inability to establish non-compliance.
It also resolved the allegations of non-compliance with the electoral act in the conduct of the election against the petitioners for failure to prove same
the evidence of the petitioners’ witnesses, especially witness number 10 is hearsay evidence that cannot be given any value in court to prove any of the allegations.
The tribunal, sitting at the Wuse Zone 2 Magistrate Court after it was relocated from Sokoto State to Abuja for alleged security reasons, declared the petition as ‘proper in law.’
On the objections raised by the petitioner against the petition urging it to dismiss the petition for lacking in merit, unanimously, the tribunal dismissed the objections and held that the petition was properly filed.
The Justice Abbas Bawale who led tribunal qually ruled that the petitioners, Aliyu and his party, the APC duly paid the filing fees.
It held that against the argument of the respondents that the petition disclosed the substantial cause of action and was properly signed by the petitioners. It further held that the non-joinder of the running mate to the petitioners is not enough to render the petition incompetent.
Justice Bawale held that the application by the respondent lacks merit and constituted a waste of judicial time.
Relatedly, the Plateau State Election Tribunal has upheld the election victory of Simon Lalong as the governor of the state.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Halimat Saleeman, in a unanimous decision of the tribunal threw out the petitioner’s case on the grounds that the petition is weak along the line of law and therefore cannot sway justice to the side of the petitioner.
The petition was therefore dismissed in its entirety and the declaration of Simon Lalong by the Independent National Electoral Commission in the Governorship election became valid.
