The Plateau State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has affirmed Gov. Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang as duly elected in the Governorship Election that was held on 18th March 2023.
In more than 2 hours of judgment and a unanimous decision of the three-member panel, the Judges said that the petition lacked merit and is dismissed.
The tribunal has held that Plateau PDP has a valid structure to nominate and sponsor candidates. On the issue of dismissing the petition of Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda for lacking in merit, The tribunal said the petitioners failed to provide evidence of the overvoting and noncompliance to the electoral guidelines.
The tribunal disclosed that the petitioner is a mere interloper with busy body to interject into the affairs of another party.
The jurists said the petitioners couldn’t also prove the allegations of overvoting ascribed by them in the 21 polling units.
Out of the 49 witnesses called by the petitioners only 21 of them were authentic to speak live to their evidence but most of them were based on hearsay.
However, the tribunal dismissed the issues of nomination and sponsorship as it said it was strictly a pre-election matter and it lacked the locus standing for the petitioners to challenge the inn house Congresses held at Langfield of Jos South Local Government Council of Plateau State.
The tribunal stressed that another party had nothing to dive into the affairs and the expert’s reports were dismissed as worthless documents tendered in evidence
The petitioners held that allegations can’t be enough to dismiss the petition as a wild goose chase for lacking in merit and return Caleb Mutfwang as the winner of the election in March 2023.
