TheCable

The Sokoto election petitions tribunal has upheld the victory of Aminu Tambuwal, governor of the state.

The three-man panel dismissed the petition of Ahmed Aliyu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who challenged Tambuwal’s victory.

Tambuwal, who contested the election under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), did not win on first ballot.

Abbas Bawale, chairman of the tribunal, said Aliyu failed to prove that there were irregularities in the election.

Bawale said he could not establish the claims of non-compliance with the electoral act and the issue of over voting.

The judge also said the evidences of the petitioners’ witnesses especially witness number 10 amounted to hearsay which could not prove any of the allegations.

The governorship election which held on March 9 was declared inconclusive following cancellation of 75,403 votes which were higher than the 3,413 votes margin between the leading candidates.

The re-run was then conducted on March 23, which led to the victory of Tambuwal who won with a slim margin of 342 votes.

Dissatisfied with the outcome, Aliyu approached the tribunal challenging the return of Tambuwal as the governor-elect, on the grounds that the election was marred with irregularities.

Tambuwal and PDP had objected to the petition, which the tribunal unanimously dismissed, saying the petition disclosed substantial cause of action and was properly signed by the petitioners.

In addition, the tribunal equally ruled that the petitioners duly paid the filling fees.

The Bawale-led tribunal held that the application lacks merit and constituted a waste of judicial time.