The Supreme Court, on Friday, declined to nullify the election of Governor Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State.
In a unanimous decision by a five-member panel, the apex court dismissed an appeal the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate, Mohammed Barde, filed to challenge the outcome of the governorship election that was held in the state on March 18, 2023.
The apex court, in its lead judgement that was delivered by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, validated the concurrent verdict of the Court of Appeal and Gombe State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which held that the case the appellants raised against the election lacked merit.
The court held that the judgements of the lower courts are not perverse enough to warrant them to be set aside.
It will be recalled that the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal on November 23, 2023.
The appellate court aligned itself with the position of the tribunal, which threw out the PDP’s contention that Governor Yahaya was not qualified to contest the election.
It equally dismissed the allegation by the appellants that the election was not only marred by irregularities but was also not conducted in substantial compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.
The tribunal had maintained that the petitioners failed to, by way of credible evidence, establish their allegations, which it described as nebulous, lacking in particularity, baseless, and an academic exercise.
While upholding the verdict of the tribunal, the appellate court held that the evidence before it proved that Governor Yahaya of the APC secured majority of valid votes to win the election.