•as Atiku, Saraki hails judgment
By Musa Baba Adamu
The Nasarawa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, on Monday, nullified the victory of Governor Abdullahi Sule.
The three-man panel led by Justice Ezekiel Ajayi, while delivering the judgment via zoom, said Emmanuel Ombudagu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is the winner.
Two of the justices agreed that the election was won by the PDP while one judge dissented.
Ezekiel maintained that the petitioner was able to prove his case beyond reasonable doubt.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Abdullahi Sule the winner of the governorship election in Nasarawa State in March.
Prof Ishaya Tanko, the INEC returning officer said that the APC candidate polled a total of 347,209 votes to defeat his closest opponent, David Ombugadu, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who got 283, 016 votes.
Meanwhile, two of the leading lights of the PDP have celebrated the judgement as the triumph of the will of the people.
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, in congratulating Ombugadu on his victory said the victory showed that the will of the people should always be upheld.
Tweeting, Atiku wrote: “My warmest congratulations to Mr David Ombugadu of the PDP, who has been affirmed by the election petition tribunal in Lafia, Nasarawa State, as the duly elected Governor of the state. Elections are the cornerstone of democracy, and the people’s will, once determined, should always be upheld. -AA”
On his part, former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, said Ombugadu’s victory was a resounding affirmation of the peoples’ will.
According to Saraki, democracy must be the bedrock of Nigeria.
He wrote: “I congratulate Hon. David Ombugadu of our great party, PDP, who has been declared the winner of the Nasarawa State Governorship election by the Nasarawa State Election Petition Tribunal.
“This judicial victory is a resounding affirmation of the people’s will, and it serves as a reminder that democracy is and must always be the bedrock of our nation. AA.’
