Andy Uba’s Win Upheld by Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has upheld the judgments of the lower courts, including the tribunal and the court of appeal, affirming the victory of Andy Uba in the March 2023 governorship election. The unanimous decision of the apex court did not award any costs.
About two months ago, the appellate court had affirmed Uba’s win in the governorship election, dismissing the challenge brought by Isa Ashiru. A three-man panel of the appellate court ruled that the tribunal erred in relying on inadmissible evidence to order supplementary polls in 22 polling units across four local government areas, where the exercise was considered inconclusive.
The court stated that a key witness presented by the PDP during the tribunal hearing provided hearsay evidence, as he was not present when the alleged malpractices took place. The witness’s allegations of vote deduction, ballot box stuffing, and mutilation of sensitive electoral materials were deemed hearsay by the court.
Additionally, the court agreed with the tribunal’s dismissal of the PDP and Isa Ashiru’s petition due to their failure to apply for the issuance of a pre-hearing information sheet after the close of pleadings, as required by paragraph 18(1) of the first schedule to the Electoral Act 2022.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Uba as the winner of the election, with 730,002 votes, defeating his closest rival, Isa Ashiru, who polled 719,196 votes. Jonathan Asake of the Labour Party (LP) secured 58,283 votes, while Suleiman Hunkuyi of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) scored 21,405 votes.
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