‘I’m Happy It’s Over’, Gov Sule Speaks On Supreme Court Victory

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News Across Nigeria Saturday, January 20th, 2024

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, is still basking in the euphoria of his victory at the Supreme Court on Friday which affirmed his election, expressing his joy that the election litigation is over.

The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate David Umbugadu against Sule’s election as the governor of Nasarawa State.

Reacting to his victory at the apex court later on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Sule said, “I am happy it is over. It is finished, that is the end of it and we can now focus on the job and move on.”

The governor said he at no time entertained any fear of losing his seat ahead of the Apex Court judgement.

“I was expecting to win, the reason being first at the tribunal, we had three judges and they disagreed with themselves, they could not even agree, all the three of them. Two of them disagreed with us and therefore we lost, one of them had a very comprehensive report and he voted for us and said we won.

“We picked from there and went to the Appeal Court where there are now more experienced three judges; and all the three of them unanimously said we won, so you can imagine into the Supreme Court with a lot of confidence, I did not doubt in my mind about the fact that we are going to win,” he said.

In his defence of his victory in the polls, Governor Sule stated that he had been overwhelmingly voted for by the people of the state. He explained that his party had lost senatorial seats due to internal conflicts and not because of a decrease in support within the state.

He maintained that he was backed by all leaders of his part during and after the March 18, 2023 governorship election.

n their judgement on Friday, the Supreme Court panel of justices in a unanimous decision dismissed the PDP candidate’s case for lack of merit and no cost was awarded.

The Election Petition Tribunal in Lafia had on October 12, 2023, nullified Governor Sule’s victory and declared David Ombugadu as the winner of the poll.

Consequently, Governors Sule and the All Progressives Congress (APC) sought to overturn the verdict by appealing the judgment of the tribunal.

The court of appeal in its judgment on November 23, 2023, faulted the verdict of the tribunal and affirmed Sule’s election as governor.

According to the appellate court, the tribunal wrongly relied on the evidence of eight of the PDP witnesses whose statements on oath were not front-loaded alongside the petition.