Court of Appeal Sacks Plateau State Governor
A landmark decision was reached on Sunday as the Court of Appeal in Abuja nullified the election of Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State.
The unanimous decision by a three-member panel of Justices declared that Mutfwang was not validly nominated and sponsored by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the gubernatorial contest held on March 18.
The court held that Mutfwang’s nomination and sponsorship by the PDP were invalid, rendering all votes credited to him and the PDP wasted.
Consequently, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was ordered to withdraw the Certificate of Return issued to Mutfwang and declare the candidate with the second-highest lawful votes as the governor of the state.
The judgment followed an appeal lodged by the governorship candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Mr. Nentawe Goshwe, challenging Mutfwang’s election. INEC had initially declared Mutfwang the winner with 525,299 votes, ahead of Goshwe, who garnered 481,370 votes.
Goshwe contested the election outcome, arguing that the PDP lacked a political structure in the state, making its nomination and sponsorship of a candidate invalid. Additionally, he asserted that Mutfwang’s victory did not comply with the Electoral Act, as he did not secure the majority of lawful votes.
Despite Goshwe’s appeal, the Plateau State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal dismissed his petition as lacking merit. Unhappy with the tribunal’s judgment, Goshwe pursued the case at the Court of Appeal, maintaining that Mutfwang’s candidacy was not valid.
Goshwe alleged that the election suffered from over-voting and non-compliance with key provisions of the 2022 Electoral Act.
He emphasized that Mutfwang lacked the legal qualification to contest the election due to the PDP’s failure to validly nominate and sponsor him.
Governor Mutfwang’s legal team, led by Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN, argued that the nomination and sponsorship of a candidate were internal affairs of a political party, beyond the jurisdiction of the court.
They contended that Goshwe lacked the standing to question another party’s candidate’s nomination and sponsorship.
In its judgment on Sunday, the Court of Appeal upheld Goshwe’s appeal, nullifying Governor Mutfwang’s election.
The decision was delivered by a three-member panel led by Justice Elfrieda Williams-Dawodu, with other justices being Muhammed Mustapha and Okon Abang.
It’s noteworthy that the same panel of the appellate court had previously sacked a Senator and three House of Representatives members in Plateau State, all from the PDP, based on the party’s non-compliance with a court order directing the conduct of congress in all 17 Local Government Areas in the state.
Source: Vanguard
