The Abuja Court of Appeal has slated Friday for the verdict in the appeal lodged by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, challenging his ousting by the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal.
Led by Justice Oluyemi Akintan Osadebay, the three-judge panel had invalidated Yusuf’s victory on September 20, 2023, citing the invalidity of 165,663 of his votes due to a lack of signature or stamp by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Consequently, Yusuf’s vote tally dwindled to 853,939, while his All Progressives Congress (APC) opponent, Nasir Ganuwa, retained 890,705 votes.
Expressing dissatisfaction with the tribunal’s decision, Governor Yusuf contested the ruling, denouncing it as “unfair” and “a miscarriage of justice,” prompting him to seek remedy through the appeal process. Wole Olanipekun, SAN, acting on behalf of Yusuf, urged the court to overturn the tribunal’s judgment, particularly challenging the unprecedented nullification of an election solely on the grounds of the non-signing of the back of ballot papers.
Olanipekun further criticized the tribunal for allowing a political party to file a case without including its candidate as a party in the petition, resulting in the candidate being declared the winner.
In response, Akin Olujimi SAN, representing the APC, countered Olanipekun’s arguments, asserting that the Appeal Court explicitly deemed the non-signing of ballots as electoral malpractice. He underscored that INEC regulations mandate presiding officers to sign and date the back of ballot papers.
Having reserved judgment, the appellate court announced on Thursday that the verdict would be delivered on Friday.
