The Supreme Court on Monday the 20th of January 2020 in Abuja upheld the victory of Simon Lalong and Sen. Bala Mohammed as duly elected governors of Plateau and Bauchi respectively.
A seven-member panel of Justices of the apex
court took the decision shortly after counsel to parties adopted their written
addresses as their brief of arguments in the suits.
Useni had challenged the election of incumbent Gov. Lalong as
duly elected governor of Plateau on grounds that he did not win the majority of
the votes cast at the poll.
However he also alleged substantial non-compliance with the
electoral laws and other irregularities as grounds for nullification of the
return of Lalong. However, the Supreme Court dismissed the petition on the
grounds that the petitioners failed to prove their allegations.
The court in a unanimous judgment held that the appellant, where as Useni failed to prove allegations made against the victory of Lalong at the March 9 governorship election in Plateau.
The apex court in the unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Paul Galinje accordingly affirmed the election of Lalong as a duly elected governor of Plateau.
Also the apex court upheld the
decisions of the tribunal and the Court of Appeal which affirmed Lalong as a
duly elected governor. Similarly, the Supreme Court affirmed the election of
Sen.
In conclusion Bala Mohammed of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) as Governor of Bauchi State in the 2019 general elections. In a unanimous
judgment delivered by Justice Musa Dantijo, the court dismissed the petition by
the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Muhammed Abubakar for
lacking in merit.
