The Supreme Court Upholds Governor Yahaya’s Election

The Supreme Court ruled on Friday not to reverse the election of Inuwa Yahaya, the governor of Gombe State.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Mohammed Barde, filed an appeal to contest the results of the state’s March 18, 2023, gubernatorial election. The appeal was dismissed by the Supreme Court in a unanimous ruling by a panel of five judges.

The apex court, in its lead judgement that was delivered by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, validated the concurrent verdict of the Court of Appeal and Gombe State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which held that the case the appellants raised against the election lacked merit.

The court held that the judgements of the lower courts are not perverse enough to warrant them to be set aside.

It will be recalled that the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal on November 23, 2023.

The appellate court aligned itself with the position of the tribunal, which threw out the PDP’s contention that Governor Yahaya was not qualified to contest the election.

It equally dismissed the allegation by the appellants that the election was not only marred by irregularities but was also not conducted in substantial compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.

The tribunal had maintained that the petitioners had not produced any reliable evidence to support their claims, which it had characterized as vague, unfounded, academic exercise, and lacking in particularity.

The appellate court maintained the tribunal’s decision while noting that the evidence presented demonstrated that APC Governor Yahaya received the majority of legitimate votes necessary to win the election.