Lalong Wins as Tribunal Sacks Delta PDP, APC Reps

The National Assembly Elections Petitions judgment sitting in Jos on Monday declared former Governor of Plateau state, Simon Lalong winner of the Plateau South Senatorial election.

Lalong, who is the current Minister of Labour and Employment contested the Senatorial election held on February 25 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress.

The tribunal upheld the petition filled by Lalong and his party while invalidating the declaration of Napoleon Bali of the Peoples Democratic Party by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

In declaring Lalong the winner of the Senatorial election, the Tribunal ruled that the votes scored by Napoleon Bali in the February 25, 2023, general elections were wasted votes as he was not validly nominated by his party, the PDP. The tribunal equally noted that at the time of Napoleon’s nomination, the PDP had no valid structure in Plateau State.

However, the ruling by the tribunal declaring Lalong winner confused political circles in the state on Monday as the tribunal had in several rulings last week, refused to nullify PDP candidates’ victories on the basis that the party had no structure in the state.

In two of the decided cases at the tribunal for instance, the Labour Party candidate for the Plateau North senatorial election, Gyang Zi, had filed his petition against the election of the senator representing Plateau North, Simon Mwadkon, while Adamu Muhammad Alkali of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) had filed his petition against the election of Musa Agah of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the House of Representatives election for Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency.

The crux of the two petitions was that both Mwadkwon and Agah were not qualified to vie for the election as they were not validly nominated by their party, the PDP.

The petitioners had contended that the process that produced the duo as their party’s candidates was flawed because PDP at the time of the nomination did not have what could be said to have constituted a valid state executive council. In other words, the petitioners had averred in the petitions that the ruling party, which was then in opposition had no structure to have produced candidates for the 2023 general elections at all levels.

During the hearings, the petitioners had canvassed that for the fact that the PDP had a tumultuous state exco, which was not validly elected at any state congress, any candidate the exco presented for the 2023 election could not have been said to be so validly nominated.

The petitioners, in their thinking, were hoping for a replay of the Zamfara scenario where the apex court sacked all the elected officials of the APC because the party did not have a lawful exco that conducted the primary election that produced the candidates for the 2019 general elections.

However, the tribunal in a lead judgment, delivered by Justice Mohammed held that the Labour Party and it’s candidate, Gyang Zi lacked the locus standi to challenge the nomination and sponsorship of Senator Simon Mwadkon because they did not take part in the primary election of PDP, the party which sponsored him in the election.

In the case of Musa Agah, the tribunal, among other reasons held that its responsibility was to determine whether or not the respondent was an independent candidate, and if he was actually sponsored by a political party and not to concern itself with whether the party had a structure as at the time of the nomination and sponsorship of a candidate.

The tribunal equally held that only party members or the party itself have the locus standi to challenge the nomination and sponsorship of a candidate, stressing that besides that, the issue of the nomination and sponsorship of a party candidate is a pre-election matter.

Meanwhile, the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Asaba, Delta State, on Monday nullified the election of a two-term member of the House of Representatives on the platform of the All Progressive Congress, Mr. Francis Waive.

The tribunal declared the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 25 election, Mr. Solomon Ahwinahwi as the winner to represent Ughelli North/Ughelli South/Udu federal constituency.

In another judgement, the tribunal ordered a re-run for Enwhe ward 09 of Isoko federal constituency and directed that the Certificate of Return issued to Mr. Jonathan Ukohdiko of the PDP as the winner of the Isoko federal constituency election should be set aside.

Candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) for the Isoko federal constituency Mr.Dickson Ebegbare had approached the tribunal, insisting that Ukohdiko was not duly elected by lawful votes and that no election was held in the contentious ward 09.

In Waive’s case, the tribunal nullified the election due to failure to have his qualification published.

Waive has rejected the judgement and vowed to appeal it at the appellate court, insisting that the grounds for his disqualification were not known to Nigerian law.