Plateau: Appeal Court Affirms Lalong as Senator, Sack 3 PDP Reps Members
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has affirmed the Minister of Labour, Simon Lalong, as the valid winner of the Plateau South Senatorial seat.
The appellate court, in a unanimous decision by a three-member panel led by Justice Elfrieda Williams-Dawodu, on Tuesday, dismissed as lacking in merit an appeal that was brought before it by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the election that was held on February 25, Mr. Napoleon Bali.
The court held that it found no reason to set aside the judgement of the Plateau State National Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal, which had on September 11, declared Lalong who is the immediate past governor of the state, as the authentic winner of the senatorial contest.
According to the appellate court, evidence before it showed that Bali, who was declared the winner of the senatorial seat by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, was not a bonafide candidate in the election.
It held that the PDP, in disobedience to a subsisting order of a Plateau State High Court, conducted an invalid primary election that produced Bali as its candidate.
The appellate court noted that whereas the PDP was in 2022 directed to conduct a fresh congress in the 17 Local Government Areas, LGAs, in the state, it failed to do so.
It held that evidence the PDP produced to prove that it complied with the order showed that 12 LGAs were excluded in a purported congress it held to select its candidates for the 2023 general elections.
The appellate court panel held that the non-compliance with the court order by the PDP invalidated Bali’s candidacy in the election.
It declared that all the votes that were ascribed to the PDP candidate at the end of the senatorial election amounted to void and wasted votes.
Consequently, the court held that Lalong, who was the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, having secured the second highest votes, was the valid winner of the senatorial seat.
Meanwhile, in a separate judgements on Tuesday, the Court of Appeal also affirmed the nullification of the election of three members of the House of Representatives that emerged on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Plateau State.
Those the court okayed their sack from the House of Reps over their invalid nominations by the PDP, were Peter Gyendeng representing Barkin-Ladi/Riyom Federal Constituency; Musa Bagos representing Jos South/Jos East Federal Constituency and a fifth-term lawmaker, Beni Lar, who represented Langtang North/Langtang South Federal Constituency.
It held that the PDP acted in breach of a subsisting court order, when it sponsored them as its candidates for the National Assembly election that held in the state on February 25.
According to the appellate court, the PDP spurned an order that was made in a suit marked PLD/J/304/2021, which directed it to conduct fresh Congress involving all the 17 Local Government Areas in Plateau State.
It held that the order that was made by a High Court in Plateau state, being a judgement in Rem, was not only binding but sacrosanct, saying it ought to have been fully obeyed.
Consequently, the appellate court upheld the verdict of the Justice Mohammed Tukur-led Plateau State National Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal, which earlier declared that since all the votes the PDP candidates garnered at the poll were wasted, candidates of other political parties that got the second majority votes, should take their place.
Those the appellate court said it was satisfied should take over the legislative seats, were; Dalyop Chollom and Ajang Alfred Iliya of the Labour Party for Barkin-Ladi/Riyom Federal Constituency and Jos South/Jos East Federal Constituency, respectively, and Vincent Bulus Venman of the APC, for Langtang North/Langtang South Federal Constituency.
Meanwhile, the court awarded a cost of N2million against the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for filing appeals to challenge the judgement of the tribunal.
It held that the electoral body was not supposed to file an appeal in support of any candidate.
“The INEC is supposed to be an independent arbiter. We are not impressed that INEC is appealing,” the appellate court held.
