Sani won Kaduna gubernatorial election, INEC tells Tribunal

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Uba Sani won the governorship election held in the state. NIGERIAN TRIBUNE reports.Information Guide Nigeria

This was even as it invited the Kaduna State Governorship Election Tribunal to note a major constitutional error in the petition brought by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), challenging the outcome of the 18 March 2023 poll.

In its reply to the petition marked KPT/KD/GOV/4/2023 and filed on 6 May 2023, the incumbent governor and candidate of the ruling APC, Uba Sani, won the election fair, square and lawfully returned as the victor.

The reply of the commission contained both its preliminary objection to the petition brought by PDP and its candidate, Mohammed Ashiru Sani, and point-by-point response to all the allegations raised by the petitioners, against the conduct of the poll and its final outcome.JAMB Result

Results of polling units being disputed by the petitioners were also analysed in the reply of the electoral body, which also indicated that it would be calling witnesses from its election operations and ICT departments, to prove the integrity of the poll and the votes scored by each of the participating candidates.

Leading a team of Senior Advocates, Abdullahi Aliyu, SAN, also listed 29 documents that the Commission would rely on, if the petition isn’t dismissed at the preliminary stage and gets to full trial.

In its preliminary objection highlighting the 47-page reply, the electoral body claimed that the constitutional error is signalled and has rendered the judicial challenge mounted by the petitioners, incompetent, and only fit, for dismissal.

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Ashiru and PDP listed INEC, the governor and his party; the All Progressives Congress (APC), as respondents.

Putting the tribunal on notice, INEC said it, “shall, before or at the hearing of this petition, challenge, by way of preliminary objection, the competence of this petition and shall urge this Tribunal to strike out or dismiss same.”

Delving into the constitutional error committed by the petitioners, INEC noted “A ground in an election petition contending that “the respondent was not duly elected by the majority of lawful votes cast at the election” is cognisable only where 2 candidates contest in a run-off under Section 179 (4) of the Constitution of the FRN, 1999.NYSC Portal

“By the table drawn in paragraph 7 of the petitioners’ petition, there were 14 candidates that contested the Governorship election conducted by the 1st Respondent (INEC) in Kaduna State on the 18th day of March 2023.

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