Supreme Court upholds Caleb Mutfwang, Dauda Lawal’s elections

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the election of Caleb Mutfwang as the duly elected governor of Plateau.

The appeal filed by Mr Mutfwang, seeking to restore his mandate to lead the state, was allowed, and the Court of Appeal judgment was set aside.

Justice Emmanuel Agim, who delivered the judgment, held that the appeal by the governor had merit.

The Appeal Court had, in a unanimous decision in November, ruled that Mr Muftwang was not sponsored by his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The court held that Nentawe Yilwada of the All Progressives Congress (APC) won the 18 March 2023 governorship election and therefore upheld his appeal.

According to the result declared by INEC, Mr Mutfwang scored 525,299 votes to beat Mr Yilwada, who polled 481,370 votes.

The Plateau governorship election petition tribunal had earlier affirmed Mr Muftwang’s victory, prompting Mr Yilwada to appeal at the Appeal Court.

In a similar development, the Supreme Court on Friday also upheld the election of Governor Dauda Lawal of the Peoples Democratic Party as the winner of the Zamfara 2023 governorship poll.

In a judgment read by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the five-member panel of justices set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal that declared the election inconclusive.

The Supreme Court’s decision on the case is final.

NAN