Immediately after the Supreme Court confirmed their cases, the governors of Lagos, Kano, Bauchi, Plateau, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, and Zamfara states waved the olive branch at their challengers and asked them to join them in moving the respective states forward following the affirmation of their elections by the Supreme Court on Friday.
The apex court held that Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Abba Yusuf, Bala Mohammed, Caleb Mutfwang, Alex Otti, Umo Eno, Bassey Otu and Dauda Lawal were the validly elected governors of their respective states, thereby putting an end to the controversies surrounding the 2023 governorship poll.
Kano
The Supreme Court set aside the lower courts’ decisions sacking the Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf.
The governorship petition tribunal had set aside the victory of Yusuf of the New Nigeria People’s Party by declaring 165,663 of his votes invalid. The tribunal held that the deducted votes were from ballot papers that were neither stamped nor signed.
He then approached the Court of Appeal for redress, but the appellate court upheld the tribunal’s decision and said the governor was not properly sponsored by the NNPP, thus violating the provisions of Section 177(c) of the Constitution.
The Court of Appeal subsequently declared Nasiru Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress the winner of the election.
At the Supreme Court, Justice John Okoro ordered that all the ballot papers from which the appellant’s votes were deducted should be restored to the governor.
He said the papers contained the logo of the Independent National Electoral Commission and the coat of arms as prescribed by the Electoral Act.
Justice Okoro also held that contrary to the position of the lower courts, a total of 146,292 of the ballot papers were confirmed to have been signed and stamped, only that they did not have any date.
“There is no proof that the said ballot papers were not the ones used for the election. Thus, the decision of the Court of Appeal affirming the decision of the tribunal ought to be set aside,” he added.
He also held that the issue of party membership was an internal affair of political parties.
Justice Okoro stated that Section 177(c) of the Constitution was to prevent independent candidature, adding, “The issue of nomination is exclusively the internal affairs of a political party. Therefore, it is not justiceable.
“The issue is also statute-barred. It is a pre-election contestable by co-aspirants. It is not within the right of the first respondent to question the appellant’s membership. The party did not deny sponsoring him.”
Plateau
The Supreme Court also set aside the order of the Appeal Court sacking the Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, whose election was earlier upheld by the Plateau State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal in Jos, but the Appeal Court overturned his victory and declared Nentawe Goshwe of the All Progressives Congress as the winner.
The Appeal Court had ruled that the failure of the Peoples Democratic Party to comply with the order of the Plateau State High Court in Jos directing it to conduct valid ward, local government, and state congresses before nominating its candidates for the various elective posts was a breach of the law.
For the same reason, the appellate court sacked many lawmakers elected on the PDP platform in the state.
Reading the Supreme Court judgment on Friday, Justice Emmanuel Agim held that the APC and its candidate were not members of the PDP and could not challenge the primary elections of the PDP.
He also held that the tribunal and Court of Appeal lacked jurisdiction to entertain the issue.
Justice Agim noted that the petition of the APC in the first place was an abuse of court process and faulted the Appeal Court for sacking the governor.
He said, “The petition by the APC and its candidates is an abuse of the court process. I wonder why the matter came to court at all. This appeal is allowed. The legal profession should wake up or render itself irrelevant. The judgment of the Court of Appeal is set aside.
““My only worry is that a lot of people have suffered as a result of the Court of Appeal’s decision. It was absolutely wrong. The appeal is allowed,” Justice Okoro said while agreeing with the judgment.
Zamfara
The Supreme Court also reserved the decision of the Court of Appeal declaring the governorship election in Zamfara State inconclusive.
The tribunal had dismissed the petition of the APC governorship candidate, Bello Matawalle, challenging the victory of Dauda Lawal of the PDP.
But the Appeal Court declared the election in the state inclusive and ordered a rerun in Maradun, Birnin-Magaji and Bukkuyum local government areas.
The court held that it was wrong for INEC to adopt results from the result viewing portal to declare the winner in the affected local government areas, adding, “IReV is not part of the collation system but for viewing purposes.”
Justice Agim described the decision of the appellate court as perverse and held that the respondents did not provide substantial evidence to prove the allegations of over voting, among others.
He said, “The Court of Appeal’s decision is perverse. Has no evidential foundation. The appeal has merit, it succeeds, and it is allowed.
“The order that the election is inclusive is hereby set aside. The election of the appellant is upheld. Other appeals on the matter shall abide by the decision.”
Lagos
Similarly, the Supreme Court affirmed the election of the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos.
His victory was upheld by the tribunal and Appeal Court in the state
The kernel of the case of the Labour Party candidate in the election, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, was Sanwo-Olu running mate’s qualification.
He claimed that the Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, had renounced his citizenship as a Nigerian.
Abdulazeez Adediran, popularly known as Jandor, of the PDP, on his part, contended that the name Sanwo-Olu submitted to INEC was different from that contained in his West African Senior School Certificate.
Reading the judgement, Justice Garba held that Hamzat is a Nigerian by birth.
The court added that the renunciation of citizenship by a citizen by birth must be registered by the President, adding that the appellant did not provide evidence to that effect.
He also said pledging allegiance to another country and acquiring the citizenship could not rob Hamzat of his rights to contest elections in Nigeria.
Justice Garba said, “Section 177 (b) could not have been simpler in both word in expressing their purpose, and spelt out conditions to be met to be a governor.
“Section 177(1a) says if he is a citizens by birth, his citizenship is guaranteed. It automatically qualifies the citizen to contest. A person who is born in Nigeria with the required educational qualification and is 35 years of age is completely eligible to contest.
“The appellants argued that he (Hamzat) renounced his citizenship without credible evidence. For a person to renounce his citizenship, the President shall approve the declaration of any person renouncing his citizenship of Nigeria.”
On the PDP’s appeal, Justice Adamu Jaro held that the tribunal was bereft of jurisdiction on the matter.
He described the appeal as academic and subsequently dismissed it.
Bauchi
In the Bauchi State governorship appeal, the Supreme Court held that the petitioner was unable to show at the tribunal how the anomaly of improper filing of results during the election substantially affected the outcome of the poll.
The court held that the appellant’s witnesses were not polling unit agents and could not have given credible testimonies about what transpired at the other polling units during the election.
Justice Ibrahim Saulawa resolved all the issues against the appellant, Sadique Abubakar of the APC, and declared Bala Mohammed of the PDP the winner of the election.
Ebonyi
The apex court also affirmed Francis Nwifuru of the APC as the duly elected governor of Ebonyi State. The PDP and its candidate, Ifeanyi Odii, had challenged the election of the governor.
Reading the lead judgment, Justice Tijani Abubkar, held that Section 177(c) of the Constitution did not provide for consideration how political parties arrived at the decision to sponsor candidates.
He held that once a candidate satisfies the provisions of Section 177 and is not disqualified by Section 182 of the Constitution, the candidate becomes automatically qualified to contest the governorship election.
He held that the appeal is unmeritorious and dismissed it.
Abia
Justice Uwani Abba-Aji held that the appeal by the PDP and its candidates against the Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, could only be entertained at the Federal High Court.
She held that issues of sponsorship and membership of a candidate were the internal affair of the party.
Justice Abba-Aji declared, “This appeal ought not to have come to the Supreme Court. Party membership and sponsorship are internal affairs. The tribunal had no jurisdiction on that. This appeal should not have been taken to this level, as it predated the election date. If the appellants had felt aggrieved, they should have approached the High Court. We have taken this position in several cases.”
Dismissing the appeal by the APC candidate, Ikechi Emenike, the justice said, “The issues are the same. They are repetitive and abuse of court process. The appellant, who came in a distant fourth, wanted magic to disqualify all respondents. They want us to declare them the winners of the election. This can only happen in a comedy skit.
“There is no need to subvert the political will of the people who voted overwhelmingly for the governor.
“There is no merit in this appeal. I affirm the concurrent findings of the lower courts.”
Cross River
Similarly, the Supreme Court affirmed the election of the Cross River Governor, Bassey Out, of the All Progressive Congress.
The apex court while dismissing the appeal by the PDP candidate, Sandy Onar, described it as a waste of judicial time and resources.
Govs, others react
Sanwo-Olu tweeted, “I’m grateful for the Supreme Court’s affirmation of my election as governor of Lagos State. An affirmation that revalidates the trust and confidence our people have placed in our vision for a greater Lagos. Thank you all for your unwavering support. Like I always say, there are no victors and no vanquished. I invite those still on the fence to join our train of progressive governance. We run an inclusive government and do not claim a monopoly of ideas.
“@drobafemihamzat and I are privileged to have been elected to serve at this auspicious moment in the history of our state. Let’s continue working together to build a Lagos that thrives, progresses, and uplifts every resident. The journey continues, and our commitment remains steadfast.”
One of his challengers and the PDP candidate, Dr. Abdul-Azeez Adediran, aka Jandor, described as disappointing the Supreme Court judgment which affirmed Sanwo-Olu’s victory.
He said, “We have expressed our reservation on the conduct and the outcome of the election by taking advantage of the provisions of the constitution and the electoral law to file petition at the election tribunal through to the Appeal Court and finally, the Supreme Court.
“This is not the outcome we envisaged or worked so hard for. But I am very proud of the values we share and the vision we hold for our dear state and for the very robust, vast, diverse, people-centred and rural-network campaign that we built and executed together.”
He, however called on his followers to “cease fire” and allow the governor to govern the state.
“Since the election is over and all avenues to seek redress for observed electoral wrongdoing have been exhausted, we need to cease fire, let the declared winner govern on the basis of his vision for the development of our state and let the electorates be the judge of their performance. This will not in any way deter me from continuing to contribute my quota to the development of our dear state and towards achieving the desired economic emancipation and a breath of fresh air in governance for our people.”
“I also use this opportunity to congratulate Mr Babajide Sanwo Olu. I wish him a peaceful, development and people-focused tenure.”
Nwifuru said he was more focused and poised to deliver the dividends of democracy to residents of Ebonyi State.
According to him, the wishes of the people of the state would have been truncated had the apex Court ruled otherwise.
The governor said this in a statement made available to journalists by his Chief Press Secretary, Monday Uzor, on Friday.
He said, “Today is a historic day in our dear state. It is a day when light overtook darkness; it is a day we are victorious over the Supreme Court Judgement that finally upheld the populist mandate freely given to us by you.
“The judgment, which was delivered by the erudite justices, has finally nailed the protracted legal battle challenging the sincerity of purpose, courage of conviction, equity, fairness, and justice – the fulcrum that our coming to power hinged on.
“It is a win for all of us who vehemently opposed the mercantilist politics that nearly serrated our shared vision as a people. And so, I congratulate you.”
Reacting to the ruling, the Chairman of the APC in Ebonyi State, Stanley Okoro-Emegha, called on the opposition political parties to join hands with the present administration in the state to ensure that peace and unity reigned.
“The opposition should know that this state belongs to all of us. You can see that the governor is giving appointments to non-card carrying members of the APC. I am appealing to them to know that this state belongs to all of us and we get it out of relegation, it is for the good of everyone of us,” he stated.
Similarly, the Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Jude Okpor, said, “The government of Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, which is anchored on the Divine Mandate and espoused by the Peoples’ Charter of Needs principle, has not only shown readiness to accommodate all players towards achieving the noble dreams of Ebonyi founding fathers, but led in the practical disposition to mend possible fences with aggrieved persons for the good of Ebonyi people.
“We therefore wish to congratulate our brothers for exhausting all available channels towards ventilating their legitimate interests and urge them to get along in the onerous assignment of taking our dear state to its desired destination.”
Otu said his victory was for the electorate, which braved all odds on March 18, 2023, to vote for him and the All Progressives Congress.
This was contained in a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Emmanuel Ogbeche, which was released shortly after the Supreme Court verdict.
Otu said, “You (electorate) demonstrated your dedication to our nation by braving the elements, sacrificing your time, and putting aside personal endeavours to answer the call to vote for the candidate who would lead Cross River State as governor.
“It is now time for statesmanship. As your governor, I humbly call upon the wisdom and expertise of our esteemed statesmen to join me in building a prosperous and egalitarian Cross River State. We need your patriotism, peace, empathy, zeal, and integrity to achieve the vision we all desire for our state.
“To my esteemed electorate, I wish to state categorically that the scorching sun, the howling wind, and other elements you braved while you queued patiently to cast your vote for me are an opportunity cost for good governance. I cherish your sacrifice, and I salute your courage.”
The Plateau State governor said on a television programme, “It has brought out in me some positive energy that we can be able to change the Nigerian system. I have always been an incurable optimist that Nigeria can change.
“With what I saw in the Supreme Court, it raises that hope further that if the Supreme Court can get it right, the judicial system will get it right, and the administration of justice will get it right.
“It therefore means that we can cascade this into other spheres of our national development. I believe that with the lot of things that are happening now, some of the corrective measures Mr President is taking mean that change is possible.”
The candidate of the APC in Plateau State, Nentawe Yiltwatda, congratulated the governor in a statement he personally signed on Friday.
He said, “Finally, we have reached the final destination of the 2023 general election process, and we accept the decision of the Supreme Court with humility and gratitude to God.
“Let me thank our supporters for their resilience, courage, and unwavering belief in the Generation Next Movement. Never before have I seen this bond of organic fraternity and personal sacrifices by supporters in a course they believe in. This is a testament to why even in the darkest of times, the light of your hope and faith still shines.
“While I congratulate my elder brother, HE Caleb Mutfwang, I must appreciate and commend the peaceful and calm disposition of our supporters.
“I still appeal to the citizens of Plateau and our numerous well-wishers to ensure we keep the peace in our state. Let us collectively work toward a secure, united, and prosperous Plateau of our dreams because our resolve to build a cohesive and peaceful community is non-negotiable.”.
A former governor of Plateau State, Jonah Jang, hailed the judgment of the apex court, which validated the election of Mutfwang.
Jang noted that it had become an abnormality for lawmakers in the state, who were earlier declared winners by the Court of Appeal after sacking all the lawmakers elected on the platform of the PDP, to remain as legislators when they could not win at the polls.
In a statement signed by his Media Consultant, Clinton Garuba, the former governor insisted that the authorities must give back to the people their true representatives and restore their mandates, as the Court of Appeal judgment should not be allowed to stand.
The PDP in Bauchi State welcomed with satisfaction the affirmation of Bala Mohammed as the validly elected governor of the state by the Supreme Court.
The Legal Adviser of the PDP in the state, Rabo Shipi, commended the judiciary for delivering a fair judgment.
“We are happy with all the judgments from the tribunal to the Supreme Court, and we are saying that election is a process involving voting and declaring a winner. It is the voting of the people that gives legitimacy to the winner, not the court. So, you cannot lose an election woefully and come to the court and expect legitimacy,” he said.
In his reaction, the Chairman of the APC in Bauchi State, Muhammad Hassan, said the party accepted the verdict in good faith since the Supreme Court was the last court in the land.
Governor Yusuf of Kano said, “I am extremely happy with the judgment of the Supreme Court. I feel extremely happy; as you can see, so many people are happy and cheering.
“The Supreme Court has confirmed that there is no illegality as far as the election is concerned. They were saying there were illegal ballot papers. The Independent National Electoral Commission has confirmed that the ballot papers belong to them, and they were issued by them.
“The Supreme Court justices have just confirmed that there is no illegality, so people are aware.”
Additional reports by Adebisi Aikulola, Felix Jacob, Abu-Bakarr Jalloh and Kenneth Ibinabo