Plateau Tribunal  Sacks Two PDP Law Makers Declares Ex-Plateau  Lalong Winner Of Senatorial Election,  Rep

Yakubu Busari

The National Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal in Jos, Plateau State, has declared Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong the winner of the Plateau South senatorial district.

Chairman of the three-member panel, Justice Mahmoud Tukur, who declared the judgment on Monday, stated that the votes scored by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP candidate, Napoleon Bali in the February 25 election were wasted.

The judge held that the PDP candidate was invalidly nominated, declaring Lalong, the immediate past governor of the state, who contested on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, winner of the poll.

According to the judges, as of the time of the nomination, the PDP had no valid structure in the state.

The panel also ruled that candidates who petitioned the court on the grounds of over-voting and non-compliance with the electoral laws could not prove the allegations.

In another judgment, the court also sacked the PDP member representing the Barkin-Ladi/Riyom Federal Constituency and declared the Labour Party (LP) candidate Dalyop Chollom winner.

The tribunal ruled that Peter Gyandeng of the PDP was not validly nominated at the time of his nomination due to his party’s lack of a valid structure in the state.

Drama as the first panel of the National Assembly Election Tribunal has delivered conflicting judgment that went contrary to the second tribunal at No 6 State High Court premises on Monday 11th September,2023.

The landmark judgment had left tension and confusion amongst political pundits in the state who were expressing diverse opinions on the development. The petitioners alluded to and predicted his petition on three grounds Structure, alleged overvoting, and noncompliance to the electoral act.

The election into the two hallow chambers of the Riyom/Barkin Ladi and Plateau South Senatorial District conducted on the 25th Day of February 2023 was described as the most peaceful exercise in the history of elections in Nigerian politics.

The earlier judgment by Honourable Justice William Rotimi Olamide dismissed the following judgments of Chris Giwa of APC, and Gyang Zi of LP, all challenging the declaration of Minority leader Sen.Simon Mwadkon of the PDP.

The Hon Musa Agah Avia of defeated Adamu Abubakar Alkali of PRP , Hon Ibrahim Baba-Hassan of APC for Jos North /Bassa Federal constituency at the tribunal knocked them on ground 1 of no structure saying that all their pleadings are pre-election matter which they should approach the Federal High Court before embarking on a wild goose chase.

The trial tribunal delivered that they’re interlopers and busybodies who are concerned with what is happening in another person’s house.

Justice William Rotimi dismissed that they have failed to prove their second grounds of over-voting, alleged mutilation, and noncompliance to the electoral act of 2022.

The judgment carefully distances itself from any preelection matter in which the petitioners sought the order of the tribunal to consider the votes cast.

 The respondents pleaded a series of judgments in compliance with the court order but in a twist of contrary views, Honourable Justice Mohammed Tukur and his team disagreed with Justice William Rotimi’s dismissal that the matter is not preelection and that PDP is in disobedience to the court order of 2021.

Mohammed Tukur said the compact judgment revealed that the matter is not a pre-election matter but post-election either the federal or state has the jurisdiction to entertain the suit.

The judgment explained further that it is adequately brought before the tribunal which this issue had to do with post-election so the tribunal has the jurisdiction to entertain the internal affairs of the parties where exhibits P1-P6 are used as fact placed before the tribunal

Tukur said that the 2nd respondent was not validly nominated and sponsored by the PDP (3rd respondent ) because the PDP failed woefully to comply with the order of the court in Austin Timku judgment upheld that the election conducted on 25-09-2023 was in total compliance to the court orders.

While declaring Dalyop Fom Chollom of the Labour Party as the winner of Riyom /B/Ladi Federal constituency that Gyangdeng Peter was not qualified to participate in the 25th February general elections in Riyom,Barkin Ladi .

However, the judgment further blind that PDP is not in existence in Nigeria politics to fill in candidates of its choice towards conducting primaries to elect flagbearers across the 36 States including FCT which is now under legal battle between the federal government and indigenous natives of Abuja with the recent judgment at Presidential Election Tribunal sitting in Abuja to declared that a candidate most scored 25 % of the votes cast.

With the judgment, the natives have approached the Federal High seeking the interpretation of treating FCT as a state where the people demand three senators, a House of Rep, State Assembly including a speakership to contradict the procured judgment celebrated.

The Senator Napoleon Bali, challenged by the Minister for Labour and Productivity, Simon Bako Lalong the tribunal jurists described the votes scored by Napoleon Bali as wasted votes which can’t stand because PDP didn’t have a valid structure to nominate a candidate.

Besides, ” many questions in the minds of Nigerian electorate where a credible election would be decided by the tribunal leaving a trail of confusion and tension where innocent people became victims of political upheaval and turmoil.

The Appeal Court and Supreme Court have the task of salvaging the democratic journey before it attracts wrap military junta “, the judgment.

The soaring level of poverty and unemployment ravaging the country of Africa’s most populated nations and third oil-producing member is ranked as underdeveloped but leaders conspired to siphon the resources to foreign countries.