Gubernatorial Appeals: Judgement Day For Sule, Fubara, Oborevwori

There is a hint of anxiety among party supporters as the Supreme Court delivers judgement in 13 governorship appeals in six states today.

The governors of Nasarawa, Rivers, Delta, Gombe, Ogun and Kebbi states will know whether they will continue to occupy the number one seat in their various states after the apex court judgement today.

The apex court has heard and reserved judgements in the appeals.
According to the court, adequate arrangements have been put in place to ensure unhindered access to the court for lawyers, litigants and the media.

Last week, the court delivered judgement in eight governorship appeals before it. The appeals arose from the judgements of the Court of Appeal which decided the case one way or the other.

According to the Electoral Act 2022, the apex court is the final court for presidential and governorship election appeals.

While some of the appeals were filed by the governors to challenge the judgement of the Appeal Court that sacked them from office, a majority of the appeals are challenging the judgement of the Court of Appeal which affirmed the elections of the governors.

Both parties in the appeals will know their fate today as the apex court is set to put an end to the governorship tussle one way or the other.

Meanwhile, there is anxiety among residents of Rivers State over today’s judgement of the Supreme Court on the 2023 governorship election in the state.

The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Tonye Cole, had gone to the Supreme Court to challenge Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s electoral victory at the election.

LEADERSHIP Friday observed that there has been tension among members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

The judgement is expected to change the tone of the ongoing political face-off between Fubara and the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Ezenwo Wike.

The situation is no different in Delta State as the residents eagerly await on the Supreme Court.
The appeals from APC, Social Democratic Party (SDP), and the Labour Party (LP) candidates are challenging the victory of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State.
This may not be unconnected with the appellants, former Senate Deputy President Ovie Omo-Agege of APC,  Barr Kennet Gbagi, SDP and Ken Pela, LP, that approached the Supreme Court for the reversal of the victory given to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of PDP by the Court of Appeal in Lagos State and Delta State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.

Subsequently, the appellants, through their respective counsels, urged the Supreme Court to invalidate the November 24 judgement of the Court of Appeal which dismissed their cases for want of merit and affirmed Oborevwori of the PDP as the bona fide winner of the governorship contest.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Oborevwori winner with 360,234 votes ahead of Omo-Agege with 240,229 votes.

An appeal court judgement in November had affirmed his election, with a three-member tribunal headed by Justice C.H. Ahuchaogu dismissing the petition filed by Ovie Omo-Agege.

However, at proceedings, a five-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Inyang Okoro, reserved  judgment in the appeal after all the parties had adopted their final briefs of argument.

Omo-Agege, who is the immediate past deputy president of the Senate, contended that the election was not conducted in substantial compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act.
He told the apex court that the results of the governorship election were not properly recorded at some polling units, adding that the forms that contained some of the recorded results did not have serial numbers.

While SDP candidate, Barr Kennet Gbagi, prayed the court to declare that Governor Sheriff Oborevwori was not eligible to contest the election, his counterpart in the LP, Ken Pela, urged the Supreme Court to nullify the entire election and declare a fresh one.

They equally faulted an earlier judgement of the sitting in Asaba, which on September 29 affirmed Oborevwori’s election.

Apart from alleging irregularities, malpractices, non-compliance, as well as corrupt practices amongst others upon which they want the court to void Oborevwori’s election, Gbagi particularly argued that the governor was not qualified to be on the ballot for PDP, on the grounds of alleged forgery of his certificate attached in his Form EC9 submitted to INEC in aid of his qualification for the election.

Uneasy calm has also enveloped the three senatorial districts of Ogun State following the Supreme Court’s judgement expected to be delivered today over the disputed governorship election results held in the state on March 18, 2023.

Notwithstanding the split judgement delivered by the appellate court earlier, which gave a faint ray of hope to the rival PDP and its governorship candidate at the election, Hon. ‘Ladi Adebutu, both the political camps of the ruling APC and that of its challenger have continued to remain silent without any of them discussing any possible victory at the apex court that is expected to give its final verdict today on the disputed election.

It would be recalled that the PDP and its guber candidate, Adebutu, had approached the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal that earlier sat in Ogun to nullify the electoral victory of the APC candidate and incumbent state governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, on the grounds that elections were disrupted in over 99 polling units in Sagamu Local Government Area of the state.
LEADERSHIP Friday also recalled that PDP was not asking that its candidate, Adebutu, be declared winner of the disputed election, but the party was rather demanding for a rerun of election in the areas where election process was disrupted.

But the appellate court upheld the electoral victory of the incumbent governor, Abiodun, in a split decision which was earlier upheld by the tribunal.

Ahead of today’s verdict, however, politicians across all political parties in the state have continued to live in anxiety over the uncertainty of the judgement, which many believe, would be in favour of the incumbent governor, Abiodun.

Speaking with LEADERSHIP Friday on the matter, a top official of the APC, who sought anonymity, expressed the optimism that the Supreme Court’s judgement would be delivered in favour of the incumbent governor.

Nasarawa Women Task Apex Court On Unbiased Judgement
Some women groups in Nasarawa State have urged the Supreme Court to uphold its independence and deliver a judgement free from external pressures and influences concerning the March 18, 2023 governorship election in the state.
Speaking on behalf of the women from different civil society groups during a peaceful protest at the Unity Fountain in Abuja yesterday, Deaconess Lydia Cletus Auta stressed the importance of the judiciary remaining untainted by external factors.

Auta said that the majority of the people of Nasarawa State voted for David Ombugadu, and asserted that any judgment deviating from the popular vote would be met with resistance.

She also pleaded with the judiciary to rise above potential religious manipulations, stating the crucial need for fairness and justice in the forthcoming Supreme Court verdict.
She said, “We call on the Nigerian people to examine the evidence and see why we are so steadfast in our demand for justice. The reports from INEC clearly show why we cannot compromise or back down.”
Auta stressed that their protest signifies not just their cause but represents widows, orphans, and vulnerable women who have been suffering bad governance.
She urged fellow citizens to support their cause.

Auta called for transparency and openness in handling the case, emphasising the importance of reflecting the popular vote in the released verdict.

However, the atmosphere across Nasarawa yesterday was calm.
In Lafia the state capital, residents were seen going about their normal business despite the impending judgement.

However, supporters of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) intensified prayers at the party’s secretariat located on Jos Road in Lafia.

The supporters, mostly women, clad in all-black attire, have been protesting since the outcome of the last governor’s election in the state was made public by INEC.
They had maintained presence throughout the period of the Governorship Election Tribunal close to the venue of the sitting at the State High Court premises on Shendam Road.

After the tribunal wound up, they retreated to the party secretariat where they converged daily to pray for the triumph of their candidate, David Umbugadu, during the duration of the Court of Appeal proceedings.
The group had vowed to maintain presence at the premises until the litigation over the governorship tussle is concluded.

LEADERSHIP Friday reports that both the leadership of the APC and its PDP counterpart recently signed a peace deal brokered by the heads of security agencies in the state.

The two contending parties had, following the peace deal, appealed to supporters and members to refrain from any action that may lead to breach of peace in the state.