Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, who led a five-member panel of the apex court, reserved judgment on the two separate appeals after all the parties had argued and adopted their briefs of argument.
The Abuja division of the Court of Appeal had, on November 23, upturned the tribunal judgment that sacked Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State.
The court held that the tribunal erred in law when it concluded that Governor Sule of the All Progres- sives Congress (APC), did not win the majority of lawful votes cast in the election.
In the lead verdict that was delivered by Justice Uchechukwu Onuemenam, the appellate court held that the record before it established that the tribunal relied on legally inadmissible evidence to declare the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), David Ombugadu, as the valid winner of the governorship election that was held in the state on March 18.
According to the appellate court, the tribunal wrongly relied on the evidence of eight of the witnesses that were produced by the PDP candidate, whose witness statements on oath were not front- loaded alongside the petition.
It stressed that under section 285(5) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, section 132(7) of the Electoral Act 2022, and paragraphs 4(5) (6) and 14(2) of the first schedule to the Electoral Act, every written statement on oath must be filed alongside the petition within the statutorily allocated time.
The appellate court struck out all the evidence and exhibits that were tendered before the tribunal by the eight witnesses.
It held that the evidence of the 12 remaining witnesses, who testified for the PDP candidate was not sufficient to sustain the judgment of the tribunal.
Moreso, the appellate court held that the tribunal was in error when it deducted a total of 1,868 votes that were credited to Governor Sule on the premise that over-voting occurred in four polling units.
It was the findings of the appellate that the tribunal was wrong in its decision since the petitioners did not provide the necessary documents needed to prove over-voting.
(FROM: THE SUN)
