The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Thursday 31st Dec 2015 reversed the judgment of the Taraba State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which had on November 7, 2015 sacked Governor Darius Ishaku of the Peoples Democratic Party and ordered the All Progressives Congress’ governorship candidate in the state, Aisha Alhassan, to be sworn in his stead. In the lead judgment read by the presiding Justice of the five-man bench, Justice Abdul Aboki, the appeal court held that Alhassan and the APC had no legal right to challenge the alleged improper conduct of the primary which produced Ishaku as PDP’s candidate. The appeal court held that the APC and Alhassan, who is currently Minister of Women Affairs, lacked the locus standi to challenge Ishaku’s qualification to contest the April 11, 2015 governorship election on the basis of alleged non-compliance of the conduct of PDP’s primary with provisions of sections 85 and 87 of the Electoral Act. The appeal court therefore set aside the judgment of the Justice Danladi Abubakar and ordered that the certificate of return issued to Governor Ishaku by the Independent National Electoral Commission remained valid.
