Appeal Court Upholds High Court Judgment On Ubandoma , Dismisses Appeal Filed By Plateau PDP Over Council Election Exclusion By PLASIEC
Yakubu Busari
Justice Ibrahim Ali of the Appeal Court sitting , Plateau State on Friday has affirmed the judgment of Justice Ishaku I.Kunda of court No3 that the appeal filed by the Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission lacks merit.
The Judge also dismissed the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party , PDP, challenging its exclusion of the party by the Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission, PLASIEC, for lacking in merit.
The People Democratic Party ,PDP, excluded PDP that the party didn’t have executive Exco saying the Sen. Suleiman Adokwe congress of the primaries was illegal and cannot stand the test of time .
The judge didn’t award cost to any party , that any election conducted was null and void so the court hereby affirmed the judgment of the lower court.
He said the appellant filed a suit challenging of Hon Joshua Ubandoma Laven tenure of 3 years in office, which had not expired before the conduct of Local Government Election in 2019.
The judge affirmed that the tenure of Ubandoma Laven Joshua didn’t expire at the time when PLASIEC conducted an election that ushered in Barr.Zulfa to occupy the seat of Langtang North LGA .
The reason for the Appeal was that PDP was challenging its exclusion from participation in the LGs elections sometime in October 2021 .
However, the PDP being an aggrieved party went to file a suit at the State High Court which was struck out by Honourable Justice Ishaku Kunda a decision that took the case to appeal court.
The suit was dismissed by the judge which meant that the court of appeal saw that the decision of the high was right.
Therefore the Appeal Court held that PLASIEC was correct to have stopped the PDP from participating in the LGs elections.
Secondly, PLASIEC through the state government is the aggrieved party on the judgment of Justice Ishaku Kunda who declared that the tenure of Hon Joshua Ubandoma Laven holds that his tenure is yet to expire, sought the clearance before the Appeal Court and its dismissed the appeal.
“it would be recalled that Justice Ishaku Kunda ordered that the Chairman of Langtang North LGA has never been vacant as the time the PLASIEC order for fresh election into the seat “, he said.
The Counsel to appellate, Barr SG Odey commended the court for the industry and record of appeal file before the Court.
Barr.Nantok Dashuwar of the respondent also applauded the for the perfect judgment .
However, counsel to Hon Joshua Ubandoma Laven ,Barr Nancwat Durven appreciated the court for delivering a landslide judgment which gave an ordinary man on the streets that there is hope in the judiciary.
Durven said today’s judgment mark a turning point for the common man that not everyone can do whatever he or she feels and go score free.
