The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Taraba State has validated the re-election of Governor Darius Ishaku of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last governorship election in the State. The decision was taken by a three-man panel led by Justice M.O. Adewara.
In a unanimous decision, the court dismissed the petition by Abubakar Danladi of the All Progressives Congress (APC) challenging the election of Ishaku. It held that the petitioners failed to prove their claims that the election was marred by irregularities and substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
The court also held that since a Federal High Court in the state, gave a judgment on March 6, 2019, in the suit: FHC/JAL/CS/01/2019, disqualifying Danladi from contesting the election, he could not be said to be a candidate in the election.
Justice Adewara held that since the judgment was upheld up to the Supreme Court, it meant that APC had no valid candidate in the election, did not participate in the election and was not qualified, along with Danladi, to have presented a petition before the tribunal.
The court explained further that even if the petition was to be considered on the merits, the petition failed to lead to sufficient evidence to establish their claims that the governor was not validly elected by a majority of lawful votes.
