Breaking: Tribunal sacks Nasarawa gov, declares PDP’s Ombugadu winner

The Nasarawa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has sacked Abdullahi Sule as the governor of the state.

The three-member panel led by Justice Ezekiel Ajayi, on Monday, October 2, 2023, declared David Ombugadu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the March 18 governorship election in Nasarawa State.

Sule contested the election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

One of the members of the panel, Justice Chiemelie Onaga, agreed with the judgement read by the panel chairman.

The chairman declared that Ombugadu provided the results of the various polling units and forms EC 8A and proved to the tribunal that the results were manipulated in favour of the APC.

Justice Ayayi declared that based on the proof from the various polling units before the tribunal, Ombugadu had the majority of valid votes in the election.

He ordered INEC to withdraw the Certificate of Return issued to Sule and issue a new one to Ombugadu.

The only dissenting judgement was delivered by Justice Ibrahim Mashi, who dismissed the petition filed by the PDP candidate for lacking in merit.

Mashi said the petitioner failed to prove his case and upheld the Independent National Electoral Commission’s declaration of Sule as the winner.

It would be recalled that INEC declared Sule the winner of the poll in March.

The INEC returning officer, Prof. Ishaya Tanko, said the APC candidate polled 347,209 votes to defeat Ombugadu, who got 283,016 votes.

The Star