The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal lodged by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Isah Ashiru, challenging the electoral victory of Governor Uba Sani in Kaduna State.
The apex court, in a unanimous decision, affirmed the rulings of the lower courts, the tribunal and the Court of Appeal, which had previously upheld Uba Sani’s victory in the March 2023 governorship election. However, no costs were awarded.
This follows the Court of Appeal’s affirmation of Governor Uba Sani’s win in November 2023. The three-member panel, delivering a unanimous judgment, dismissed the appeal presented by Isa Ashiru, deeming it without merit.
The appeal can be traced back to the Kaduna State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal’s decision, where a three-member panel had a split decision both on the merit of the petition and a technical aspect of the case.
In September 2023, the tribunal, in a two-to-one decision, ruled that the PDP’s petition failed due to untimely application for pre-hearing notice. Although this essentially nullified the petition, the tribunal, nonetheless, proceeded to rule on its merit. Once again, in a two-to-one split, the tribunal held that it would have declared the election inconclusive had the petition passed the procedural test.
