The Supreme Court has upheld the victory of Ahmed Aliyu in the Sokoto State governorship election. In delivering the lead judgment, Justice Tijani Abubakar dismissed the appeal brought forward by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Saidu Umar. The court concurred with the rationale presented by the lower court, affirming Ahmed Aliyu’s legitimacy as the governor of Sokoto State.
Meanwhile, The Supreme Court, on Thursday, rejected an appeal lodged by Tonye Cole, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the Rivers State governorship election. Cole had sought the apex court’s intervention to unseat Siminalayi Fubara as the governor of the state, alleging irregularities in the election process and asserting that Fubara did not validly resign from his previous position, as mandated by the law, before contesting the election.
Despite unsuccessful attempts at both the tribunal and the Court of Appeal, where his case was dismissed on grounds of lacking merit, Cole persisted in challenging the election outcome. However, in delivering the lead judgment, Justice Ibrahim Saulawa of the Supreme Court upheld the decisions of the lower courts. The five-member panel, in a unanimous verdict, declared that the appellant failed to substantiate his claims of non-compliance with the Electoral Act during the election, thus affirming the validity of Siminalayi Fubara’s governorship.
