September 29, (THEWILL) – The Plateau State National and State House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Jos has affirmed the election of Joseph Nannim Langyi as duly elected member representing Langtang North-North State Constituency in the State Assembly.
Justice Nwazunke, in his ruling, dismissed the petition of Hon. Nimchak Abel, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), for lack of merit.
Nimchak had filed a petition before the tribunal, challenging the election of Nannim Joseph Langyi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the March 18 election.
Delivery judgement on Friday, Justice Emmanuel Nwazunke of panel 2, held that the petitioner failed to discharge the burden of proof of overvoting alleged in the petition.
The Tribunal dismissed the claim that the 3rd Respondent (PDP) had no structure in Plateau State to have sponsored and nominated the 2nd respondent to contest for election in the State.
According to the Tribunal, the Congress held by the PDP on the 25th of September 2021 at Langfield Resort in Jos South Local Government of Plateau State, validates the structure of the Party in the State.
Justice Nwazunke described the petitioner, who is an APC, as a meddlesome interloper for challenging the nomination and sponsorship of the 2nd Respondent, a member of the PDP.
The tribunal highlighted the constitutional requirements of persons qualified to challenge the candidature of a particular party in an election to include: an aggrieved aspirant of the same Party who contested and lost for obvious reasons perceived to have been caused by either the 1st or 3rd respondent as the case may be.
Consequently, the Tribunal dismissed the petition for lacking in merit. It added that the petitioner lacked the locus standi to challenge the nomination and sponsorship of the 2nd respondent.
According to the judgment, “INEC monitored the conduct of the repeated Congresses of Plateau PDP held by the 3rd Respondent in compliance to series of judgments by Hon.Justice Ishaya Kunda, Hon. Justice S.P. Gang and Justice Arum Ashoms of State High Court, including Federal High Court judgment of Justice Dorcas Agishi and the Appellate court respectively.”
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