Toba Owojaiye Reporting
The Nasarawa State Election Petition Tribunal has issued a significant ruling, sacking Governor A.A Sule of Nasarawa and declaring David Ombugadu of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as the rightful winner of the state’s Governorship Election. The tribunal based its decision on several key factors.
Firstly, it found that the responses from the 1st and 3rd Respondents (presumably the incumbent governor and another party) were not competent and thus deemed abandoned. Despite this, the tribunal decided to evaluate the petition on its merits rather than getting bogged down in technicalities, emphasizing that the trial primarily revolved around the Petitioners and the 2nd Respondent (likely the PDP candidate).
The tribunal identified inflated votes that had been wrongly credited to Alhaji Sule and proceeded to deduct them. Furthermore, it uncovered discrepancies between forms EC8As and EC8Bs in certain wards, which supported the Petitioners’ claims. The tribunal also scrutinized the “magical vote” of Chiroma by comparing polling unit results with ward results, leading to further deductions.
This ruling marks a significant overturning of the initial outcome, where the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Abdullahi Sule of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner with 347,209 votes, defeating David Ombugadu of the PDP, who had garnered 283,016 votes. The tribunal’s decision underscores the importance of fairness and accuracy in electoral processes, ultimately reshaping the political landscape in Nasarawa State.
