Another judiciary sledge harmer falls on opposition in Northern Nigeria

*As Appeal Court sacks Plateau’s PDP Governor Caleb Mutfwang

*Declares APC candidate winner

By OUR REPORTER

A three-member panel, in a unanimous decision on Sunday, held that Muftwang was not validly sponsored by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as provided by Section 285(2) of the Nigerian Constitution.

The Court of Appeal on Sunday sacked Caleb Mutfwang from office as the Governor of Plateau State.

The court declared Nentanwe Yilwatda Goshwe of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as duly elected governor of the state.

A three-member panel, in a unanimous decision on Sunday, held that Muftwang was not validly sponsored by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as provided by Section 285(2) of the Nigerian Constitution.

The DEFENDER reports that this is second such ruling in less than 48 hours wherein the appellate court would sack a sitting governor in an election dispute over what it had, in the recent time, judged to either be intraparty or pre-election matters in the case between President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of All Progressives Congress (APC) and Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP).

It would be recalled that the Court of in Abuja, on Friday, ruled on similar reason saying Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of the New Nigeria people’s Party (NNPP), who scored over one million votes in the March 18, 2023 governorship election to push the APC’s Yusuf Nasiru Gawuna in distant second position by over 130,000 votes, was not member of NNPP as at the time of contesting the election.

Governor Yusuf and his party have, however, proceeded to the Supreme Court of Nigeria after rejecting the Friday verdict saying they were shocked that the appellate court would go ahead and deliver “miscarriage of justice” on issue of membership of the party despite overwhelming evidence before it confirming the genuineness of the governor’s membership before, after the election and even presently as governor of Kano State.

Professor Farooq Kperogi, who lives andvteaches in the United States of America, took to his X account on Saturday to warn President Tinunu and APC National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje against attempting to play with fire over the Kano election matter .

Both figures are generally believed to have manipulative hands in the judiciary matter especially as Tribunal judgment that came first was a ruling via zoom.

In her ruling on Sunday, the lead Justice, Elfrieda Williams-Dawodu, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue a Certificate of Return to the candidate of the All Progressive Congress, Nentawe Goshwe.

Justice Williams-Dawodu set aside the judgment of the Tribunal which affirmed the election of Governor Mutfwang, describing it as highly incompetent.

According to the court, the decision of the tribunal to dismiss the petition filed by the APC and its candidate on the ground that the duo had no business meddling in the affairs of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on which platform Mutfwang was elected is in breach of Section 177 of the 1999 Constitution as amended and Section 134 (C) of the Electoral Act.

The court also held that contrary to the decision of the tribunal that the issues contained in the petition filed by the appellants were pre-election matters, they were both pre-election and post-election matters and could not have been deemed status barred.

Citing section 177 of the Constitution, the panel noted that Mutfwang was not validly sponsored by the PDP during the election.

It held that the party violated the court order that a valid congress be conducted in the 17 local government areas of that state, by conducting congress in only five local government areas of the state, and as such is a nullity.

While dismissing the decision of Plateau State Election Petitions Tribunal, the court held that the issue of qualification is both a pre-election and a post-election matter contrary to the findings of the tribunal which held that the appellant lacked the locus to contest the validity of the respondent.

The court also noted that under section 134 of the Electoral Act, it is the sole right of a political party to sponsor its candidate having met the necessary requirements to do so.

While evoking section 136 of the Electoral Act, the court ordered INEC to retrieve the certificate of return issued to Governor Mutfwang and issue a fresh certificate of return to the Goshwe.

Agreeing with the judgment, Justice Okon Abang said unless the PDP resolved its issues in Plateau State, it would always suffer self-inflicted misfortune.