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Tag: Abdullahi Sule

  • We are behind Sule to develop Nasarawa, says Speaker

    We are behind Sule to develop Nasarawa, says Speaker

    The Speaker of Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Danladi Jatau has said that the 7th Nasarawa Assembly will partner with Governor Abdullahi Sule-led administration to build “a new Nasarawa of our dreams.”

    The Speaker, who preaches against ethnic and religious politics, said that it will not take the state anywhere.

    He explained that the assembly under his leadership would rally round and support the programmes of the Sule administration by eliminating all inhibiting policies affecting the process and development of the state, adding that the lawmakers would be partners in progress for the sole benefits of the entire people of the state.

    Jatau said the governor is the right leader the state need at this crucial time, adding that his policies and programs will lead to economic growth and prosperity of the state.

    Read Also; Illegal miners, dredgers face sanction

    He added that, the 7th assembly under his watch will enhance effective synergize with the executive arm of government and enact laws that would  promote good governance in the state, that he would not relent in enacting laws that would promote peace, unity, progress and development of the State.

    The Speaker appreciated God for given Governor Sule victory at the Supreme Court.

    “Election has come and gone, legal battle has come and gone, now it is time for governance. I want to appreciate God for where we are today and the victory He gave us. I want to thank the people of the State for their support and understanding throughout the period, the victory of Governor Sule at the Supreme Court is a victory for Nasarawa State

    “The Supreme Court judgment, was an affirmation of the mandate the people of the State freely gave Governor Sule on March 18th Governorship election

    “I want to call on all citizens of the state to accept the victory in good faith, as leadership comes from God,” he said

  • 2027:Governor Nasarawa needs, by Sule

    2027:Governor Nasarawa needs, by Sule

    Nasararwa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule said, the kind of governor the state need in 2027 after him should be one that will be able to unite the entire people of the state.

    Governor Sule stated this weekend in Lafia during a thank you visit to a traditional ruler, Rtd Justice Muhammed Sidi Bage at his palace in Lafia following his Supreme Court victory in Abuja.

    He said: “Let me say and pray that whoever will become the Governor of Nasarawa State after me should be such that will unite the entire people of the state.”

    He said he believed that God will grant him victory “which is why I and my family’s luggage remain intact in the government house during the legal tussles.”

    Read Also: Wadada disburses WAEC registration fees to 744 less-privileged students in Nasarawa

    “My dream is to leave Nasarawa State better than I met it. And my dream is to see that Lafia as a state capital can compete with any other state capital in the country. I didn’t make any arrangements for losing.

    “I didn’t make any preparations for losing at the courts because in my mind and in my prayers I told and I prayed and asked God not to lead us to have arrested development in Nasarawa State,” he added.

    Governor Sule warned that the state could not afford to allow the ambition of some individuals to throw the state into a state of anarchy, stressing that the security agencies are on red alert to deal with any situation that could threaten the existing relative peace in the state.

  • UPDATED: Appeal Court reverses sack of Nasarawa Gov Sule

    UPDATED: Appeal Court reverses sack of Nasarawa Gov Sule

    The Court of Appeal in Abuja has reversed the judgment of the Nasarawa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sacking Governor Abdullahi Sule of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    A three-member panel of the court held that the tribunal was wrong to have declined  to determine the legal issues identified in the objection raised by the APC and Sule, challenging its jurisdiction to hear the petition by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, David Ombugadu and the competence of the petition.

    The court held that the petitioners at the tribunal – PDP and Ombugadu – failed to prove their allegations of over-voting and non-compliance with the Electoral Act.

    In the lead judgment, Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam, who headed the panel, held that the tribunal was wrong when it failed to determine the issue of jurisdiction raised by the respondents at the trial tribunal (APC and Sule) and the competence of the petition.

    Justice Onyemenam held that the tribunal was duty bound to consider the preliminary objection and resolve the issue of law raised , particularly as it touched on its jurisdiction to have heard the petition.

    She added: “The preliminary objection was properly raised and ought to have been determined one way or the other. 

    “The ruling on the preliminary objection by the tribunal did not determine the issues of law and facts raised.

    “The tribunal was in error by failing to determining the issue of law. The decision of the tribunal is a nullity,” the judge said.

    Justice Onyemenam expunged from the court’s record, the evidence of eight of the 22 witnesses called by the PDP and Ombugadu at the trial tribunal and the documents tendered through them, on the grounds that their written statements on oath were not filed along with the petition as required.

    She noted that without the evidence of the eight witnesses – petitioners witnesses (PW) 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 20 and 21 the evidence lead through the remaining witnesses was insufficient to sustain the judgment of the trial tribunal.

    Read Also: PHOTOS: Nasarawa Gov Sule with predecessors, Sen. Al-Makura, Adamu at Appeal Court hearing

    The judge held that the tribunal was wrong not to have expunged the witness statements on oath of witnesses that were not front-loaded .

    Justice Onyemenam also held that the tribunal was wrong to have deducted 1868 votes from the votes of the appellants (APC and Sule) when  the petitioners failed to prove their claim of over-voting.

    She held that the tribunal was wrong to have granted the reliefs sought by the petitioners at the tribunal, when the petitioners did not prove their case of over-voting.

    The judge also faulted the tribunal for dismissing the  evidence of some of the witnesses called by the APC and Sule, by holding that they were not witnesses of truth without giving reasons for rejecting the evidence of the respondents’ witnesses 

    She however faulted the contention by the appellants the the judgment of the tribunal was a nullity because it was delivered virtually.

    “The fact that the judgment was delivered virtually did not make the decision of the trial tribunal a nullity. 

    “The appellants did not show that the mode of delivery of the judgment occasioned a miscarriage of justice in any way.”

    Justice Onyemenam proceeded to allow the appeal, set aside the tribunal’s judgment and the consequential orders made with it.

    Proceedings in the Nasarawa case was witnessed by chieftains of the APC and the PDP, including former National Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Adamu, former Governor of Nasarawa State, Umaru Al-Makura and former Minister of Information, Labaran Maku.

    In two other judgments, another panel of the court, headed by Justice Theresa  Orji-Abadua affirmed the election of Governor Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State.

    In the lead judgment in the appeal marked: CA/G/EP/GOV/GM/11/2023 by the PDP and its governorship candidate, Jibrin Mohammed Barde, Justice Orji-Abadua found that the appeal was without merit.

    She resolved all the four issues, identified for determination against the appellants.

    Justice Orji-Abadua held that the petitioners at the tribunal, failed to prove their allegations of non-qualification, supplying of false information and  certificate forgery raised in the petition were not proved..

    She proceeded to dismiss the appeal and affirmed the judgment of the trial tribunal.

    Justice F. A. Ojo, in the second judgment, also dismissed the appeal by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and its candidate in the March 18 governorship election, Nafiu Bala.

    Justice Ojo held that the appeal was without merit and  affirmed the judgment of the trial tribunal.

  • Tribunal sacks Nasarawa governor

    Tribunal sacks Nasarawa governor

    The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) suffered a major reverse yesterday.

    The Governorship Elections Petition Tribunal sitting in Lafia, Nasarawa State, voided the victory of Governor Abdullahi Sule and declared David Ombugadu of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) winner of the March 18 election.

    The tribunal, which delivered its judgement through virtual (zoom) that lasted for more than four hours, said Sule rode on the back of illegal votes to the State House.

    But the tribunals upheld the victories of Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Fintiri and his Rivers State counterpart, Siminalayi Fubara. 

    Sule, who has reacted to the verdict, vowed to appeal the decision, stressing that he will remain as governor until the judgment of the Supreme Court. 

    The Chairman of the Nasarawa tribunal, Justice Ezekiel Ajayi, and another member of the panel, Justice Chiemelie Onaga, concluded that Ombugadu earned the majority of the lawful votes cast.

    The two jurists removed the illegal votes cast in Gayam, Chiroma and Ashige wards in Lafia local government and collated the lawful results at the various polling units to arrive at their decisions. 

    The tribunal chairman added that the candidate of PDP had provided the results of the various polling units and Forms EC 8A, adding that he successfully proved that the results were manipulated in favour of the APC.

    He therefore, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Sule and issue a new one to Ombugadu.

    However, there was a dissenting judgement delivered by Justice Ibrahim Mashi, who dismissed the petition filed by the PDP candidate for lacking in merit.

    He said that the petitioner had failed to prove his case and therefore, upheld Sule’s victory.

    Jubilation in Nasarawa PDP:

    There was jubilation in the Nasarawa chapter of the PDP, following Ombugadu’s victory at the tribunal. 

    PDP presidential candidate Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who congratulated the chapter, said people’s will should be respected. 

    He said in a statement: ”My warmest congratulations to Mr David Ombugadu of the PDP, who has been affirmed by the election petition tribunal in Lafia, Nasarawa State, as the duly elected governor of the state. Elections are the cornerstone of democracy, and the people’s will, once determined, should always be upheld.”

    Former Senate President Bukola Saraki hailed the verdict, saying: ”This judicial victory is a resounding affirmation of the people’s will, and it serves as a reminder that democracy is and must always be the bedrock of our nation.”

    Read Also: Tribunal’s verdict: I remain Nasarawa governor, says Sule

    PDP National Publicity Secretary Debo Ologunagba described the ruling as victory for democracy and the triumph of the will of the people of the state “in their quest to liberate it from the stranglehold of corrupt, oppressive and manipulative forces”

    Noting the spontaneous jubilation that the verdict elicited across the state, he said the victory of Ombugadu underscored the resolve to return the state to the path of peace and economic development on the platform of the PDP.

    The statement reads: “Our party commends the Nasarawa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal for its courage in upholding the will of the people and showing that indeed, the judiciary is the last hope of the common man.

    “This tribunal judgment points to the fact that the outcome of a proper application of the laws, rules and facts by the judiciary, as witnessed in this case, will always confirm and validate the will of the people.

    “Our party salutes the resoluteness, courage and dexterity of the good people of Nasarawa State in insisting that their will as expressed at that election be upheld.”

    The PDP charged the people of Nasarawa State to remain united, peaceful and at alert as “a new dawn” breaks in their state’s.

    I remain governor, says Sule 

    Sule, who addressed supporters at the State House, urged the people to remain calm, peaceful and law abiding.

    He described the judgment as temporary setback and a wake up call, adding that he is not rattled by it.

    Sule said he will carry out his duties as governor while his lawyers will appeal the judgment.

    SDP loses in Adamawa 

    The Adamawa State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal  dismissed the petition filed by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship candidate, Dr Umar Ardo, against Fintiri.

    Ardo, his running mate, Amos Yusuf, and the SDP had filed the petition, alleging that the election was not conducted in substantial compliance with the  Electoral Act.

    The SDP candidate, who alleged that the election was marred by bribery, threats and violence, prayed the tribunal to nullify it.

    But, Fintiri disagreed, saying that Ardo’s petition was not supported by evidence and not filed in compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act.

    The chairman of the tribunal, Justice T.O. Uloho, declared that the petition was incompetent, defective and not properly instituted.

    Stressing that the petitioners were not certain about what they wanted, she dismissed the petition and awarded N200,000 against the petitioners and in favour of INEC, Fintiri, Deputy Governor Kaletapwa Farauta, and the PDP.

    Fubara triumphs in Rivers 

    The Rivers State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal  dismissed four petitions filed against the victory of Fubara and PDP. 

    The petitions were filed by Labour Party (LP), Accord Party, Allied Peoples Movement (APM) and the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The petitioners had, among others, sought the nullification of Fubara’s victory on grounds of non-compliance with the Electoral Act,  corrupt practices and non-qualifications.

    The three-member panel, led by Justice Cletus Emifonye, in the first judgment, dismissed the petition filed by the LP governorship candidate, Beatrice Itubo 

    The LP and Itubo had in their petition challenged Fubara’s victory on grounds of non-qualification, non-compliance and electoral malpractices and INEC’s failure to transmit the election results electronically.

    The tribunal held that though the petition was filed within time on April 10, 2023, the petitioner failed to prove that Fubara did not resign his employment as required.

    It held that the petitioners also failed to establish their claim of  non-qualification raised against the governor.

    The tribunal held  that the petitioners failed to present the resignation letter of Fubara as the Accountant-General and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance in Rivers State, his employment letter or his payments slip to show he was still receiving salary from the former office.

    On the issue of corrupt practices, the tribunal held that the petitioners failed to prove their allegations contained in their petition beyond reasonable doubt as required by law.

     On the non-transmission of polling unit results electronically, the court held that the petitioners failed to establish their claim.

    The tribunal held that the petitioners also failed to provide an alternative results aside from the results presented by INEC, which declared Fubara winner, to support their claim that false results were entered for the PDP’s candidate.

    The tribunal also dismissed the petition filed by the Accord Party for lacking in merit.

    It also dismissed the petition by APM and its candidate, Innocent Ekwu, on the grounds that the petition lacked  merit.

    The tribunal, after a thorough analysis of the evidence in relation to the petition by the APC and it’s candidate, Tonye Cole, dismissed it on the grounds that the petitioners failed to prove their case.

  • Tribunals dismiss election petitions against Ihedioha, Sule, Masari

    THE Imo, Nasarawa and Katsina Election Petitions Tribunals on Saturday dismissed all the petitions filed against the emergence of Governors Emeka Ihedioha (Imo), Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa) and Aminu Masari (Katsina) as winners of the March polls in their states.

    The tribunals, in separate verdicts, said the petitions lacked merit and the complainants failed to prove their cases.

    All three petitions filed by the governorship candidates of the Action Alliance (Uche Nwosu); All Progressives Congress  (APC) (Hope Uzodinma ) and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) (Ifeanyi Ararume),  against Ihedioha did not succeed.

    It was a unanimous decision by the tribunal.

    It was also a unanimous decision by the Nasarawa State Election Petitions Tribunal in throwing out the petition filed by Mr. David Ombugadu  of the  Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenging the election of Gov. Sule in the March 9 Governorship polls.

    Delivering judgment Justice Abba Mohammed, Chairman of the Tribunal held that the PDP petition lacked merit.

    The tribunal said that the petitioner failed to prove the allegation of over voting, nonvoting and noncompliance with the electoral act.

    The tribunal also held that the petitioner failed to prove how collation of results was disrupted.

    “The burden of prove lay with the petitioner and he has failed to prove the allegations.

    Read Also: Tribunals uphold Delta, Abia, Taraba governors’ elections

    “The petitioner has failed to produce two sets of results (original and fake) to prove that the outcome was falsified in favour of APC candidate.

    “Hence he failed to prove that, we therefore, uphold the result declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC),” the tribunal held.

    Ombugadu, a two term House of Representative member challenged the election over alleged unlawful declaration of Sule as winner of the poll.

    The PDP candidate had also claimed that the polls did not comply with provisions of the Electoral Act 2010.

    He had also alleged intimidation of voters, unlawful cancellation of votes and malpractice during the election.

    Sule polled 327, 229 votes to defeat Ombugadu of PDP who scored 184, 281 votes in the election.

    Tribunal declines request to sack Masari

    The Katsina State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in a two-to one split decision yesterday declined the request by the petitioners to void the return of Aminu Masari of the All Progressive Party (APC) as the winner of the last governorship election in Katsina State.

    The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the election, Senator Yakubu Lado, had, by their petition,  challenged Masari’s victory on the grounds that he falsified his age and academic qualifications in his credentials and affidavit submitted in the nomination form he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    They also argued that the governor was not qualified to stand for election and prayed the tribunal to, among others, void the declaration of Masari as the winner.

    The tribunal, in its majority judgment held that the petitioners failed to prove the allegation of substantial noncompliance to the electoral act in the conduct of the election.

    It also said Masari was qualified to contest the election for the office of governor and that the name “Aminu Bello Masari” is the same as “Aminu Masari.”

    It was further held, in the majority decision, that no law exists in the country that stipulates the number of names to be used in the filling of the INEC form for an election.

    But in her dissenting decision, tribunal chairman, Justice Hadiza Alijos, held in favour of the petitioners, allowed the petition and ordered that a fresh election be conducted in the state within 90 days.

    Justice Alijos, who was absent, had her dissenting judgment read by Justice A. B Omotoso, a member of three-man panel of the tribunal.

    She held that Masari was not qualified to contest the election because the name, “Aminu Masari” is different from “Aminu Bello Masari.

    The matter was highly contentious, forcing a change in the sitting venue of the state governorship election petition Tribunal from Katsina State to Abuja.

    On petitioners’ claim that Masari was not qualified, the tribunal held, in the majority decision, that the petitioners did not prove their case, adding that allegation made without proof can be denied.

    It also held that evidence of witnesses called by the petitioners from one to 50 is of no probative value since they confirmed that they gave their statements in Hausa language and the Hausa versions are not before the tribunal.

    The majority decision also held that the petitioners failed to prove the allegations as required by law and consequently dismissed their petition and affirmed the election of Governor Masari.

    The petitioners had claimed that Masari’s documentation with INEC which was tendered as exhibit to the tribunal showed that Masari and his father are 69 years old respectively.

    They also claimed that an affidavit, allegedly deposed to by Governor Masari’s father, Umaru Bello showed that while his son was given birth to on 29th May, 1950 which translates to 69 years in 2019, he (the father) was 51 years as at the time of the declaration on 9th August, 2001 which suggests that he is exactly 69 years in 2019, same age with his son.

    The petitioners also claimed that Masari provided conflicting dates of birth as shown on the primary school leaving certificate of Governor Masari which differs with that of the sworn declaration of age.

    He said, while the declaration of age showed that Masari was born in 1950, the primary certificate showed that he was born in 1951.

    Similarly, Senator Lado claimed that the same primary certificate in question belongs to one Aminu Bello; a Fulani by tribe while the respondent is known and addressed as Aminu Bello Masari, Hausa by tribe.

    In the same vein, Lado questioned a post graduate diploma presented to INEC by Governor Masari, noting that the certificate bears no logo or stamp of the institution, hence questionable.