…declares March 18,Zamfara State Gov’ship election inconclusive
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Thursday declared the March 18, 2023 Governorship election in Zamfara State that produced Governor Dauda Lawal inconclusive.
A three Man panel of Justices of the Court of Appeal in a unanimous judgment set aside the judgement of Zamfara State Governorships Election Petitions Tribunal of September 18,2023 that dismissed the petition of former Governor Bello Matawalle the candidate of All Progressive Congress (APC) as lacking in merit.
The appellant court said that the declaration of Dauda Lawal of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the duly elected governor of Zamfara State was premature because the governorship election in the state was inconclusive.
Delivering the lead judgement Justice Sybil Nwaka – Gbagi ordered INEC to conduct a fresh election in Maradun Local Government Area of the State and in two other areas where elections were either cancelled or did not hold at all during the March 18 Governorship Election in the state.
She said that it was clear from the record of the trial tribunal that the margin of lead between PDP and the second runner up APC was far below the accredited voters in the affected areas where elections did not hold.
The Court also faulted INEC use of the IREv as it’s collation centre adding the electoral body discarded collation centre results in the affected areas and adopted the purported scores collated in IREv in declaring Governor Lawal as the winner of March 18 Governorship election in the state.
The court also said that the polling units results INEC relied upon during the election as evidence in the trial court records were unlawful, illegal and unconstitutional having been mutilated.
Two other justices on the panel Justice Oyebisi Omoleye and Justice Cordelia Jombo -Ofo agreed with the lead judgement. The respondents to the appeal particularly the People Democratic Party has the right to appeal the judgement within next 21 days.