Nasarawa Tribunal Declares Ombugadu, PDP Winner Of 2023 Governorship Election

…Strikes out NNPP’ case, as Justice Mashi delivers Minority judgement in favour of Governor Sule

The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital has reversed the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and declared David Emmanuel Ombugadu of the Peoples as the winner of the March 18, 2023, governorship election.


Justice Ezekiel Ajayi, the chairman of the 3-man tribunal, delivering a judgment that lasted about 2 hours, 53 minutes, deducted the inflated votes from the scores wrongly credited to Governor Abdullahi Sule of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to PDP’s Ombugadu.

Ajayi, ruled that, the petitioner proved his case and scored the highest lawful votes cast.

The tribunal also held that, the second respondent was not duly elected by the total number of valid votes cast in the election.

The Tribunal chairman further held that the election was not conducted inline with the electoral provisions.

Two out of the 3-man panel, Ajayi and Chiemelie Benedicta Onaga, assented to the judgement while there is a minority ruling by a member of the panel, Justice Ibrahim I. Mashi.

Meanwhile, the election petition tribunal had earlier struck out the case of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) candidate, Abdullahi Maidoya in the March 18, 2023 governorship election.

In a 48 minutes judgement delivered by Chiemelie Benedicta Onaga, the tribunal held that the petitioner’s evidences and documents lacks merit and so thereby dismissed.


Detail to come later…