The candidate of the People Redemption Party (PRP) Adamu Muhammed Alkali has emerged winner of the bye-election for Jos North-Bassa Federal Constituency conducted in February 2022.

A three-man National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Jos declared the PRP candidate as the winner of the bye-election while ruling on the petition in Jos yesterday.

Alkali had petitioned the tribunal following the declaration of Hon Musa Agah, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as winner.

The tribunal insisted that it was wrong for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to have declared the PDP candidate winner because he was not validly nominated for the election.

The PRP candidate approached the tribunal and prayed for six relieves bordering on whether the candidate of the PDP was validly nominated for the election, whether there was substantial compliance with the election in the election that he was declared winner, whether the PDP candidate actually scored the majority of votes cast during the election and whether the declaration by INEC that the PDP won the election was in order.

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He also prayed the court to declare the certificate of return issued to the PDP candidate null and void. He also asked the court to declare him winner of the said election.

The tribunal, in determining the six grounds of the petition, ordered that from the evidence before the tribunal, the candidate of the PDP won the election on the wrong foundation and cannot be said to be validly nominated.

In determining the issue of non- compliance with the electoral law in the election said to have been won by the PDP candidate, the tribunal said, “Based on the faulty foundation of the PDP candidate, the election that returned the PDP candidate failed to comply with the Electoral Act.

On the allegation of over voting claimed by the petitioner, the tribunal said the evidence before it has proven that there were cases of over voting in Tudunwada, Kabong and Bassa.

The tribunal therefore concluded that from the foregoing, it was clear to the court that the certificate of return issued to the PDP candidate was null and void.

The court thereby ordered INEC to issue a certificate of return to Adamu Muhammed Alkali of the PRP having scored the majority of valid votes cast during the election.