Supreme Court affirms Lawal, Nwifuru election as Govs of Zamfara, Ebonyi

The Supreme Court has affirmed the election of Dauda Lawal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as Zamfara Governor and Francis Nwifuru of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the governor of Ebonyi state.

Lawal was declared the winner of the March 18 governorship election. In an upset victory that dislodged then-incumbent Bello Matawalle of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Matawalle, now serving as the Minister of State for Defence, had accused INEC of subverting his victory at the poll by failing to include the results of some ward areas.

In an earlier ruling on September 18, the Zamfara Election Petitions Tribunal held that the petition was devoid of merit. While upholding Lawal’s victory, the tribunal awarded the N500,000 fine against the petitioners.

An unsatisfied Matawalle, took the matter to the Court of Appeal in Abuja, to challenge the decision of the lower court.

Respite came for Matawalle at the appellate court as the three-member panel led by Justice Oyebisi Folayemi, nullified the return of Governor Lawal as the winner of the governorship poll.

Also on Friday, the apex court affirmed the election of Francis Nwifuru of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as Governor of Ebonyi State.

In affirming the decision of the Court of Appeal, Lagos, the court dismissed the appeal of Chukwuma Odii of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for lacking in merit.