BY Bolanle Olabimtan
The supreme court has upheld the election of Abdullahi Ganduje as the governor of Kano state.
The court gave its verdict on Monday in the suit filed by Abba Kabir Yusuf, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), challenging the election of Ganduje, candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC).
The apex court dismissed the suit challenging Ganduje’s election for lack of merit.
It also upheld the election of Aminu Tambuwal, candidate of the PDP, as the governor of Sokoto state.
Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto, candidate of the APC, had filed an appeal challenging Tambuwal’s victory.
On Kano, Ganduje’s challenger had asked the apex court to set aside the decisions of the two lower courts which affirmed the governor’s election citing paragraph C section 138 (1) of the electoral act 2010 as amended.
But a five-man panel of justices led by Sylvester Ngwuta in its decision held that the provision of the electoral act cited “is not a blanket or a catch-up provision that can accommodate every infraction of the electoral process”.
The court said the appellant did not show cause why the concurrent judgments of the election petition tribunal and the court of appeal should be set aside.
It found no merit in the appeal, and consequently dismissed it.
On Sokoto where Tambuwal’s challenger alleged over voting and not compliance with the electoral act in the election, the court ruled that the appellant could not prove his case.
Reading the lead judgment, Uwani Abba-Aji held that the appellant failed to produce credible evidence to prove their case.
Abba-Aji held that the court cannot rely on documents tendered in evidence by the appellant because they were not authentic. The documents tendered were witness statements originally given in Hausa but translated into English.
The apex court said the translated versions are not admissible and cannot be relied upon because they amount to hearsay.
In a unanimous verdict, the court dismissed the appeal for lacking in merit.
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