The Appeal Court sitting in Abuja will, today, deliver judgment on the tension-soaked governorship election between the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Aishatu Binnani, and her Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Ahmadu Fintiri.

The APC candidate lost at the tribunal in a judgment delivered in Yola the Adamawa state capital in October 2023. Delivering the judgment that lasted six hours 48 minutes, Chairperson of the tribunal, Justice Theodora Obi Uloho, dismissed the application filed by the APC candidate on the grounds that the petition lacked legal ingredients to upturn Fintiri’s victory.

Uloho, in her 176-page judgment, noted that the petitioner failed to prove her allegations of over-voting by not tendering documents to prove her case.

Citing Section 51 of the Electoral Act and Supreme Court judgment on Adeleke vs Oyetola case, the judge said, to prove the allegations of over-voting, the petitioner must tender before the tribunal voter register of the affected areas to ascertain the number of registered voters.

She added that the petitioner must tender Bi-modal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) machine to prove the number of people accredited for the election in each of the affected polling units, wards, and local government.

“The petitioner must provide Form C8 to prove that election actually took place in those polling units, wards and local council, pointing out that failure to provide those three exhibits the case is mere academic exercise,” she also said.

On the allegations of non-compliance, the tribunal had pointed out that the petitioner failed woefully to name the polling units, wards and local councils where there was non-compliance during the election.

Uloho said the petitioner failed to comply with Section 104, 87, 68, 83 and 93 (3) of the Evident Act 2011, which rendered the petitioner’s case impotent.

The then Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Hudu Ari, is now standing trial at the federal high court, Yola, for unconstitutionally declaring Binani winner when the collection of results by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials were still going on. There is tension in the state, as both parties are moving around the state capital singing songs of victory. (Text, excluding headline: The Guardian)

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