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The trio of Governors Dauda Lawal, Caleb Mutfwang, and Abba Kabir Yusuf of Zamfara, Plateau and Kano States, respectively, found redemption on Friday, January 12, 2024, as the Supreme Court reversed their sacking by the court of appeal.
In a busy day for judges at the apex court, five other governors, including Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, his Cross River counterpart, Bassey Otu, Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi, Alex Otti of Abia, and Bauchi's Bala Mohammed, also saw their victories upheld.
The decisions marked the end of all legal tussles arising from the March 18, 2023, governorship elections in the concerned states.
Aggrieved candidates and their parties had approached the Supreme Court hoping to overturn the lower courts’ verdicts.
However, while luck shone on some of the litigants, resulting in the affirmation of their elections, the likes of Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, Abdulazeez Adediran, and the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, failed in their attempts.
Yusuf holds on to Kano
Arguably the most anticipated of the lot, the Supreme Court affirmed the election of Yusuf, the Kano State Governor who contested under the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples’ Party (NNP).
The tribunal and appeal court had nullified the governor’s victory after declaring invalid 165,663 of his votes over claims that the deducted votes were from ballot papers that were neither stamped nor signed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The court went ahead to declare Yusuf Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the election.
But the Supreme Court ordered that all the deducted votes belonging to the appellant be re-added to the final tally.
It stressed that the affected ballot papers bear the logo of INEC and the coat of arms as prescribed by the provisions of the Electoral Act.
On the issue of membership, the judgement of the five-member panel, as read by Justice Inyang Okoro, unanimously held that the matter was not only a pre-election concern but also an internal affair.
Mutfwang lives to reign on the Plateau
Ruling on Mutfwang's appeal, the Supreme Court faulted the lower court’s judgement that sacked the governor.
Reading the lead judgement, Justice Emmanuel Agim held that the petitions filed by the APC and its candidate, Nentawe Yilwatda Goshwe, had no locus standi as they were members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He stressed that the issue of nomination remains an internal affair of the political party, adding that the tribunal and court of appeal lacked jurisdiction to entertain the issue.
The panel held that the issue of nomination was an internal affair of the political party, adding that the PDP complied with the High Court order for the conduct of congresses.
“The petition by the APC and its candidates are abuse of the court process. I wonder why the matter came to court at all. This appeal is allowed.”
“My worry is that a lot of people have suffered as a result of this,” Justice John Okoro said while agreeing with the lead judgment.
Lawal trumps Matawalle, again
Having defeated the then-incumbent in March last year, Lawal was also triumphant again at the Supreme Court against Matawalle after the latter got a respite at the appeal court.
The lower court had declared the election of Zamfara Governor inconclusive and ordered a supplementary poll, a decision the apex court described as perverse.
Justice Agim, while reading the lead judgement, said the APC and its candidate failed to supply substantial evidence to prove their allegations of over-voting in Birnin Magaji, Bukuyyum and Maradun local government areas.
He held that “The court of appeal’s decision is perverse. It has no evidential foundation. The appeal has merit. It succeeds, and it is allowed. The order that the election is inconclusive is hereby set aside. The election of the appellant is upheld.”
Sanwo-Olu 'maintains champion' in Lagos
The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the tribunal and appeal court, which affirmed the election of Sanwo-Olu as Governor of Lagos State.
In his appeal, the Labour Party candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, had alleged that Sanwo-Olu's running mate, Obafemi Kadri Hamzat, had renounced his Nigerian citizenship and taken up that of the U.S., hence not qualified to be sponsored by the APC.
But, the apex court ruling, read by Justice Mohammed Garba Lawal, dismissed the Labour Party candidate's appeal for lacking merit.
In the same vein, the court also threw out the appeal brought against the Governor by the PDP candidate, popularly known as Jandor, who contended that the name Sanwo-Olu submitted to the electoral body differed from that contained in his WAEC certificate.
The apex court described Jandor's appeal as “academic”.
Otu won battle to retain Cross River
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court affirmed the election of Otu of the APC while dismissing the appeal filed by the PDP candidate, Senator Sandy Onor.
Justice Helen Ogunwumiju, who read the lead judgement, said the claim that Governor Otu was not qualified to contest the election due to false information involving his academic records, was not proven.
The panel, therefore, described Onor's appeal as a waste of judicial time and resources.
Nwifuru takes victory back to Ebonyi
The Supreme Court also affirmed the election of Nwifuru as Ebonyi Governor while throwing out the appeal filed by Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii of the PDP, saying it lacked merit.
The panel unanimously held that Odii and his party failed to prove allegations of non-qualification to contest the election and non-compliance with the 20222 Electoral Act in the election.
Mohammed consolidates power in Bauchi
The Bauchi Governor was also victorious on Friday as the apex court dismissed the petition filed by the APC and its candidate, Sadique Abubakar.
Abubakar had, in his appeal, alleged massive non-compliance with the Electoral Act during the poll, but the Supreme Court said the claim lacked merit.
The panel judgement read by Justice Ibrahim Saulawa resolved all the six issues raised by the APC candidate in favour of Mohammed and affirmed the latter's election.
Otti remains unbeatable in Abia
The apex also upheld the election of Otti as Abia Governor, unanimously declaring the appeals filed by the PDP’s Okechukwu Ahiwe and the APC candidate, Ikechi Emenike, as lacking merit.
Reading the lead judgement, Justice Uwani Abba-Aji ruled that the non-qualification claim against Otti, as well as the allegation that his name wasn't submitted to the membership list of the Labour Party (LP) 30 days before the primary, were not the intention of section 177(c) of the Nigerian constitution.