Appeal Court reverses nullification of Gov Ishaku’s election

Governor Darius Ishaku

The Annulment of the Election of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP candidate Governor Darius Ishaku's by the Taraba State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has be been reversed by the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja  of . In a unanimous judgment Thursday afternoon, the appellate court panel headed by Justice Justice Abdul Aboky, held that the tribunal acted outside its jurisdiction when it invalidated Ishaku’s election on the premise that he was not validly nominated by the PDP.

Aisha Jumai Alhassan

The appellate court maintained that the issue of nomination of a candidate by a political party “is clearly a pre-election matter which no tribunal has the jurisdiction to entertain”. It stressed that neither the All Progressives Congress, APC, nor its candidate, Senator Aisha Jumai Alhassan, had the locus-standi to query the outcome of the governorship primary election of the PDP.

‎Besides, the court held that the tribunal “grossly misdirected itself”, when it not only nullified governor Ishaku’s election, but went ahead to declare the candidate of the APC, Alhassan, winner. “There is no basis for the finding of the lower tribunal‎”, Justice Aboky held, saying the tribunal had no power whatsoever to declare a person that came second at an election as the winner.

Source: Vanguard...