Victor EzejaThe Appeal Court sitting in Abuja has nullified the election of Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The appellate court in its ruling delivered on Sunday by lead Justice, Elfrieda Williams-Dawodu, set aside the judgment of the tribunal which had earlier affirmed the election of Mutfwang as governor of the state on March 18.
The court ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue a Certificate of Return to the candidate of the All Progressive Congress, Nentawe Goshwe.
The court held that Section 177 of the 1999 Constitution as amended and Section 134 (C) of the Electoral Act were violated by the tribunal’s decision to dismiss the petition filed by the APC and its candidate on the grounds that they had no business interfering with the PDP, on whose platform Mutfwang was elected.
According to the court’s judgment, the concerns raised in the appellants’ appeal were not only post-election but also pre-election in nature, defying the tribunal’s ruling that they could not have been considered status-barred.
The Plateau State Election Petitions Tribunal had on September 22, dismissed the petition filed by Goshwe challenging the emergence of Mutfwang as the winner of the governorship poll.
Goshwe and the APC had challenged the election results, claiming that Mutfwang was not validly nominated by the PDP and that there had been over-voting in some areas. In addition, he claimed that Mutfwang’s election was not held in accordance with the Electoral Act, especially the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), and that the PDP candidate did not get the majority of valid votes cast. The tribunal, however, ruled that the APC had failed to prove its case.
Relying on provisions of Section 177 of the Constitution, the appellate court held that Mutfwang wasn’t validly sponsored, adding that by holding congress in only five of the state’s 17 local government areas, PDP violated the court order requiring that a legitimate congress be held in all 17 LGAs and as a result, the congress was void.
It therefore dismissed the decision of the tribunal stating that in contrast to the tribunal’s ruling that the appellant lacked the jurisdiction to challenge the respondent’s validity, the issue of qualification is both a pre-election and a post-election matter.
The court further pointed out that a political party’s exclusive right to support a candidate after fulfilling the prerequisites is stipulated in section 134 of the Electoral Act.
Citing section 136 of the Electoral Act, the court directed INEC to retrieve the certificate of return given to Governor Mutfwang and issue a new certificate of return to the Goshwe.
Unlike the tribunal judgment which earlier prevented APC’s bid to clinch the Plateau State governorship seat, the appellate court’s decision has worked in its favour.
The ruling is coming two days after the Appeal Court upheld the judgment of the election petition tribunal that sacked Kano State Governor, Kabir Abba Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).
Like the NNPP which has disclosed plans to appeal the Appeal Court ruling against Yusuf, the PDP’s Mutfwang may also explore the same option to see if he could reclaim the mandate.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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