Yakubu Busari
The National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Jos on Thursday upheld the victory of a member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Musa Avia Agah in the House of Representatives election held on February 25, 2023, as well as that of the Plateau North Senatorial seat Hon . Simon Mwadkon of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Senator Mwadkon of PDP and Musa Avia Agah were announced as the winners of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission, having defeated Gyang Zi and Agah, having defeated the candidate of PRP, Mr. Adamu Muhammad Alkali in the poll.
The PDP scored the highest number of lawful votes cast to beat the LP candidate in the election and was returned as the winner because the petitioners failed to prove his case of overvoting and alleged irregularities.
Having dissatisfied with the outcome of the election, the LP candidate approached the tribunal seeking the nullification of Mwadkon Simon’s victory on the grounds that the PDP rigged the election and most of the polling units were mutilated, and altered by the first respondent.
Mwadkon through his counsel, Mr, Pius A.Akubo , SAN, argued that the petition was a preelection matter so it should be dismissed for lack of merit.
The petitioner, Gyang .Y. Zi had petitioned, INEC and the PDP, stating that the PDP didn’t have a structure so couldn’t nominate and sponsor the 2nd respondent,”Musa Agah “
In his judgment, Honourable Justice Mohammed Mohammed said the petition lacked merit since the petitioners couldn’t prove the case of overvoting and couldn’t produce BVAS, Voter registers, and polling unit result sheets.
He said that the prayer of the petitioners was an implication to cause judicial anarchy, describing it as a perfect example of a waste of the tribunal process, stating that the tribunal was under a duty by the constitution to enforce the judgment of them.
He added that the Nigerian constitution stipulates that the tribunal judgments shall be in conformity with the electoral act.
While dismissing the petition of Adamu Muhammad Alkali , Hon.Justice Williams Rotimi Olamide disclosed that the petition lacked merit and failed woefully to discharge the duty to prove the issue of over-voting allegations .
According to him, the petition lacks locus standing to institute a case of non-compliance to the structure of the PDP because it is a pre-election matter that the petitioners should have approached the Federal High Court.
The witnesses of the petitioners couldn’t be based on hearsay, not the agents of polling units of the state as ascribed by the petitioners in his case.
The Senate and the Federal of Representatives seat predicted their cases on three grounds of structure, noncompliance to the electoral act, and qualification of the 3rd respondent to nominate and sponsor the 2nd respondent in the Senate and House of Rep.
The first ground of the petitioners on the structure was dismissed for lacking in merit, non-compliance was not proven which was unanimously agreed by the three.
