January 16, (THEWILL) – The Supreme Court has reserved judgment in the appeal against the election of Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State.
Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, who led the five-member panel of Justices of the apex court announced this on Tuesday, after parties in the appeal made their final submissions.
The PDP and its candidate in the March 18, 2023, gubernatorial election in Nasarawa, Emmanuel David Ombugadu, in a joint appeal filed before the apex court, are seeking to set aside the judgment of the lower court in Abuja, which affirmed the election of Governor Sule of the All Progressive Congress (APC).
The Appeal Court had on November 23, 2023, set aside the October 2 2023, judgement of the Nasarawa State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, earlier nullified Gov. Sule’s election.
Making his final submission on Tuesday, Kanu Agabi (SAN), the lead counsel for the PDP and its Governorship candidate, appealed to the apex court to overturn the November 23 judgement of the Court of Appeal, which confirmed Sule as the duly elected governor.
Agabi urged the Supreme Court to reinstate the October 2, 2023, judgement of the Nasarawa State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, which had favoured the PDP and Ombugadu.
He further contended that the Court of Appeal unjustly nullified the Tribunal’s judgement and improperly declared Sule as the winner of the March 18 2023, gubernatorial election.
He specifically called on the Supreme Court to recognise the votes of Nasarawa State residents, declaring PDP and Ombugadu as winners, aligning with the Tribunal’s decision.
Akin Olujinmi (SAN), leading the legal team for the APC, urged the apex court to meticulously review the cited authorities supporting their plea to sustain the judgement of the Appeal Court.
About the Author
