In the lead judgement read by Justice Sybil Nwaka, the Zamfara State election petitions tribunal ruled that it was wrong for INEC to rely solely on information it obtained from its IReV portal to collate the final result of the governorship election.
By Deborah Hassan
365Daily – An Appeal Court sitting in Abuja has declared Zamfara governorship election inconclusive, while ordering the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct fresh elections in some parts of the state.
Before pronouncing its judgement on Thursday, November 17, 2023, the three-member panel of justices unanimously nullified the return of Governor Dauda Lawal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the gubernatorial election.
It ordered a rerun in three local government areas of Birnin-Magaji, Bukkuyum and Maradun local government areas.
The immediate past governor of the state and current Minister of Defence, Bello Matawalle of the All Progressives Congress (APC), had filed an appeal challenging the governor’s victory.
In the lead judgement read by Justice Sybil Nwaka, the Zamfara State election petitions tribunal ruled that it was wrong for INEC to rely solely on information it obtained from its IReV portal to collate the final result of the governorship election.
It also rejected the results for Maradun Local Government submitted by INEC and the APC.
Meanwhile, Lawal has called on the people of the state to remain calm and law-abiding over the Appeal Court verdict on his governorship election.
In a statement by his media aide, Sulaiman Idris, issued in Gusau, the governor described the verdict as a temporary setback.
“I want to call on the people of Zamfara to remain calm; our legal team is thoroughly reviewing the verdict,” said the governor. “We will follow through with the necessary actions to achieve a just outcome.”
According to him, the outcome of the governorship election on March 18 represented the people’s yearning for a shift towards positive development and progress.
“I remain optimistic that the collective decision of the people will ultimately prevail,” he stated.