The election of governors of seven states in Nigeria will be affirmed or cancelled on Monday as the Supreme Court has hinted on readiness to deliver judgement.
The Supreme Court, at the weekend, sent a hearing notice to the lawyers.
This was same as last week when the judgement on some states were delivered after similar notices were sent out.
The states and governors are Sokoto – Governor Aminu Tambuwal, Imo – Governor Emeka Ihedioha, Kano – Abdullahi Ganduje, Plateau – Simon Lalong, Benue – Samuel Ortom, Bauchi – Bala Mohammed and Adamawa, Ahmadu Fintiri.
Last Wednesday, the apex court affirmed the election of Okezie Ikpeazu as the governor of Abia State.
A member of the seven-member panel, Justice Paul Galinje, read the court’s unanimous judgement.
He affirmed that the appellant’s premises on the smart card readers in proving the alleged over-voting was fatal to their case.
Further, Galinje added that the law is clear that the petitioner must tender the voter’s register, and should relate the document to the specific area where the documents were affected.
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He also explained that the card reader print out tendered by the appellants at the tribunal cannot be inserted into the constitution or electoral act which stipulates the yardstick for proving over voting.
On this basis, the judge said that the appellants made unsuccessful attempts to provide credible evidence to substantiate their claim.
The candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Alex Otti, and his party had approached the apex court to set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal which upheld the election of Governor Ikpeazu.
Same day, the election of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of the PDP as Governor of Delta, was affirmed.
Delivering the judgment, Justice Centus Nweze held that the apex court had no reason to upturn the concurrent decisions of the lower court.
“The appeal had been right described at the Court of Appeal as a metaphor of forensic Golgotha
“The appellant woefully failed to prove over voting polling unit by polling unit as required by law.
“In the circumstance, the appeal is bereft of any iota convincing evidence and it is hereby dismissed. Ifeanyi Okowa is therefore affirmed as governor of Delta State’’, Nweze said.
Great Ogboru, who contested the election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), had approached the highest court in Nigeria after his dissatisfaction with the decisions of the lower court.
