The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Aminu Bande, challenging the election victory of Nasir Idris as the governor of Kebbi State.
In a ruling delivered on Friday, the apex court declared that the appeal lacked merit.
Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, who read the lead judgment, stated, “My conclusion is that this appeal lacks merit and it is dismissed.”
The electoral process in Kebbi State faced controversy in March 2023 when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the gubernatorial election inconclusive due to reported “massive vote cancellation and over-voting” in 20 of the 21 local government areas (LGAs) in the state. INEC subsequently scheduled a supplementary election for April 15, 2023.
In the supplementary election, Nasir Idris, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), emerged victorious, securing 409,225 votes against Aminu Bande of the PDP, who garnered 360,940 votes.
Dissatisfied with the outcome, Bande and the PDP filed a petition before the tribunal, challenging the results and making various allegations, including claims of over-voting and the submission of a fake secondary school testimonial by the deputy governor.
The tribunal, chaired by Ofem Ofem, dismissed the petition, ruling that the petitioners failed to conclusively prove the allegations.
The tribunal deducted votes from both APC and PDP results in certain polling units but affirmed that the deductions did not impact the overall margin of victory.
The Court of Appeal also upheld the decision of the tribunal, confirming Nasir Idris as the duly elected governor of Kebbi State.
With the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the PDP’s appeal, the legal challenges to Nasir Idris’s election have been conclusively resolved.
