The Taraba State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Jalingo, the state capital, has upheld the victory of Governor Agbu Kefas of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the March 18 gubernatorial election in the state.
The three-man panel headed by Justice Ayo Sunmonu dismissed the petition filed by the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and its governorship candidate, Prof. Yahaya Sani, for lacking sufficient evidence.
Justice Sunmonu dismissed the petition stating that the petitioners failed to justify the relief they sought.
“The petitioner failed to prove his ground that the governor was not duly elected, and therefore, the petition, lacked merit,” he said.
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Speaking, the governor’s counsel, Sam Adda, applauded the judgement, saying: “It is a landmark judgement.”
The NNPP and its gubernatorial candidate had filed a petition before the tribunal seeking the cancellation of the election alleging that it was characterised by irregularities.
Another relief sought by the NNPP was for the tribunal to order a fresh election in Taraba State.
Apart from the alleged irregularities, the party also alleged non-compliance with the 2022 Electoral Act as a major reason for the demand for the cancellation of the election.
Kefas polled 257,926 votes to defeat Yahaya who got 202,278 votes, and Sen. Emmanuel Bwacha of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who scored 141,592 votes in the election.
