The Court of Appeal in Abuja has nullified the election of Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, stating that he was not validly sponsored by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the March 18 governorship election.
Mutfwang of the PDP secured 525,299 votes, while the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Nentawe Goshwe, polled 481,370 votes, leading INEC to declared Mutfwang winner.
Goshwe, dissatisfied with the outcome, filed a petition challenging Mutfwang’s victory, alleging that the governor was not validly nominated and sponsored by the PDP, and cited non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
The tribunal, led by Justice R. Irele-Ifijeh, unanimously dismissed Goshwe’s petition for lacking merit.
However, Goshwe appealed the tribunal’s decision.
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In its ruling, the three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Elfrieda Williams-Dawodu, referenced section 177 of the Constitution, stating that the PDP violated a court order directing it to conduct a valid congress in the 17 Local Government Areas of the state.
She said there was no evidence that the PDP complied with a subsisting High Court order which had directed it to conduct a valid party congress prior to its sponsorship of the governorship and other candidates.
The court held that the issue of qualification is both a pre-election and a post-election matter contrary to the findings of the tribunal which held that the appellant lacked the locus to contest the validity of the respondent.
The court also noted that under section 134 of the electoral act, it is the sole right of a political party to sponsor its candidate having met the requirements to do so.
She then ordered INEC to retrieve the certificate of return issued to the governor and issue a fresh certificate of return to the Goshwe.
Meanwhile, the court also affirmed the sacking of the lawmaker representing Langtang Central State Constituency in Plateau state, Rimvjat Nanbol.
Nanbol of the Peoples Democratic Party had been sacked by the National and State Houses of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal in September.
The tribunal declared Daniel Ninbol Listic of the Labour Party as the winner of the state constituency election.
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In the judgment read by Justice Okon Abang, he held that the tribunal was right when it held it had jurisdiction to sit over the internal affairs of a political party with regard to non-qualification and the issue of sponsorship.
“It is my view that without complying with court order, there was no party by the name PDP in the election.
“It is a joke taken too far for a political party to disobey an order of court,” he added.
He noted that a court of law has jurisdiction to entertain a matter bordering on a political party especially if that party disobeys a subsisting order of a court.