Supreme Court Affirms Francis Nwifuru As Governor Of Ebonyi State

The Supreme Court on Friday, affirmed the election of Francis Nwifuru as the Governor of Ebonyi State.

Nwifuru contested and won the March 18, 2023 election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) but his victory was contested in court.

Justice Tijani Abubakar, who read the lead judgment of the apex court on Friday, held that the appeal filed by Chukwuma Odii of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is unmeritorious.

Justice Abubakar held that the appellants failed to prove their case before the trial court that the election was marred by non-compliance with relevant laws and that Nwifuru was not a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the time of the election.

The Judge affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeal delivered on November 24, which upheld the tribunal judgment that okayed Nwifuru’s election.

Supreme Court Affirms Yusuf As Kano Governor

The Supreme Court on Friday affirmed Abba Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) as the duly elected Governor of Kano State.

Justice John Okoro, who read the lead judgment, held that the lower court was wrong in its judgment to have deducted 165,616 votes from the vote secured by Governor Yusuf.

According to the Supreme Court, the respondent’s allegation that the 165,616 ballot papers were not from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was not proven. It added that by virtue of section 63(1) of the Electoral Act before a ballot paper can be declared invalid, it must be proven that it was not given to the presiding officer.

Justice Okoro held that, in this case, the ballot papers in question were both signed and stamped; the only feature left out was the date, hence 165,616 should be added to the votes secured by Abba Yusuf.

The Supreme Court also ruled that the issue of wrong nomination of Governor Yusuf is a pre-election matter and no political party can interfere with how another party nominates its candidates.

The apex court, by its ruling, brings to an end the legal issues concerning the March 18 governorship election in Kano State.