Different understanding of the judgement of the Kaduna governorship election petition which was delivered via Zoom on Thursday has sparked up confusion.
While some people understood the judgment to mean Governor Uba Sani’s election was upheld by the tribunal, others understood the judgement differently.
It was initially reported that the judgment was inconclusive and Sani was sacked and elections were ordered in 22 polling units in four LGAs across the state within 90 days.
However, the tribunal dismissed the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the 2023 election, Isah Ashiru challenging the victory of Sani of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In a dissenting judgment of two against one, delivered, the three-member panel headed by Justice Victor Oviawie dismissed the petition on the ground that the pre-hearing notice was filed out of time and therefore deemed to be abandoned.
The tribunal chairman and another member held that the appeal brought by PDP and Ashiru against the dismissal of their petition at the preliminary stage by the first and second defendants was not meritorious because the filing of the pre-hearing notice was abandoned and out of time, and therefore had dealt the entire petition a fatal blow.
The tribunal however, noted that if the petition had not been dismissed for lack of merit, it would have ordered a supplementary election in 22 polling units within 90 days in the substantive judgement.
Speaking in a telephone interview after the judgment both lawyers of the PDP and the APC, confirmed that the petition of the PDP was dismissed and the election of Sani was affirmed.
Sanusi Musa (SAN), one of the counsels to the APC said “The judgement is simply, the tribunal dismissed the petition based on the motion filed by Uba Sani and the APC on the grounds that PDP has abandoned its petition since the on May 2023.
“So based on that the tribunal agreed was abandoned. But beacuse it is a court of first instance, the court that notwithstanding, let it consider the merit of the petition, despite the dismissal of the petition.
“The tribunal said had it been the petition is not dismissed, its decision would be that INEC ought not to have declared winner for the elections until after conducting elections in 22 polling units that were cancelled because the number of voters there is 16000 while the margin between APC and PDP is 11000.
“But despite this finding, the tribunal had already dismissed the PDP petition so Uba Sani’s election is upheld.”
In his reaction, Mohammed Baba Lawal, one of the counsels to the PDP, said, “What actually happened was that APC raised an objection about our petition that we filed out of time.
“But the position of the Electoral Act is that the tribunal must go into the knitty gritty.
“Now they found that there is the need for rerun in 22 polling units in four LGAs.
“We cannot activate that as inconclusive unless we appeal against that decision that declared our petition abandoned.
“The final decision of the court has two arms, that is what confused people.
“One declared our petition as abandoned, the second decision declared the election inconclusive but, that inconclusive decision cannot be activated unless the decision declaring the petition abandoned is appealed against and set aside.
“So technically the tribunal declared the petition abandoned and dismissed it. “
Meanwhile, Sani has applauded the decision of the tribunal, saying that the judgment is an unequivocal mandate given to him by the people.
“I am extremely delighted and humbled by the ruling of the Election Petition Tribunal affirming my victory in the 2023 Kaduna State Governorship Elections”, the governor said in a statement on Thursday.
According to him, “The judgement is an unequivocal affirmation of the popular mandate graciously given to me by the good people of Kaduna State.
“I commend the tribunal for their thoroughness and lucidity. They have enriched our jurisprudence and practice of electoral democracy.
“I also commend my dear brother, Hon. Isah Ashiru Kudan for approaching the Tribunal to ventilate his grievances.
“This is a clear demonstration of his belief in the principles of democracy and the imperative of civility in the conduct of political actors.”
Sani called on Ashiru and members of the opposition parties in Kaduna State to join hands with his administration as it strived to the state forward.
Tribunal affirms Sani’s election amid confusion arising from interpretations of tribunal judgment
