–Appeal Court Verdict Temporary Setback – Gov

By David Torough

Plateau chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has begged its members to celebrate the Court of Appeal governorship judgment with modesty and decorum and avoid actions that could puncture peace in the volatile state.

The party’s sate chairman, Rufus Bature, gave the advice in a statement signed by the State Publicity Secretary, Mr Sylvanus Namang.

The statement read, “We appeal to members and supporters of the APC in Plateau to remain calm and refrain from provocative acts that could hurt the peace.”

The chairman advised that the acrimony and disaffection that prevailed in the wake of appeal should be put behind as Plateau State had become a laughing stock.

He called on security agencies to be at alert to avert any act capable of causing a breakdown of law and order.

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Sunday nullified the election of Governor Caleb Muftwang and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise Nentawe Goshwe of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the March 18 Plateau State governorship election.

The three-member panel, in a unanimous decision held that Muftwang was not validly sponsored by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as provided by Section 285(2) of the Nigerian Constitution.

Justice Elfrieda Williams-Dawodu, who led the panel while delivering the lead judgment, cited Section 177 of the Constitution, noting that the PDP did not validly sponsor Manasseh for the governorship election.

The panel held that the party violated the court order that a valid congress be conducted in the 17 local government areas of the state by conducting congress in only five local government areas and as such, it is a nullity.

The court while dismissing the decision of the Plateau State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal held that the issue of qualification is both a pre-election and a post-election matter, contrary to the findings of the tribunal, which held that the appellant lacked the legal right to contest the validity of the respondent.

The court noted that under Section 134 of the Electoral Act, it is the sole right of a political party to sponsor its candidate having met the necessary requirements to do so.

While evoking Section 136 of the Electoral Act, the court ordered INEC to retrieve the certificate of return issued to Governor Mutfwang and issue a fresh one to Goshwe.

INEC had declared Mutfwang the winner of the March 18 governorship election after he scored 525,299 votes to defeat 17 other candidates, including Goshwe, who polled 481,370.

Goshwe challenged Mutfwang’s election at the tribunal, claiming that the governor was not validly nominated and sponsored by PDP and that PDP had no structure to sponsor any candidate for the governorship election.

He alleged that Mutfwang’s election was not conducted in compliance with the Electoral Act, adding that the PDP candidate did not win the majority of lawful votes cast during the election.

The tribunal headed by Justice R. Irele-Ifijeh dismissed the petition for lacking merit.

Not satisfied with the judgment of the tribunal, the APC candidate approached the Court of Appeal, praying it to declare him winner on grounds that the governor was not qualified to have stood election because he was not validly sponsored and nominated by his party.

The APC candidate told the court in his Notice of Appeal that there was over-voting and non-compliance with the 2022 Electoral Act during the election.

Last week, lead counsel to the appellants, Prof. Goke Olagoke (SAN) urged the court to set aside the judgment of the tribunal and declare his client winner.

He told the court that the appellants’ case is that Governor Mutfwang was not qualified to be in the race because of lack of valid sponsorship by a political party, contrary to section 177 (C) of the 1999 Constitution.

Olagoke said his submission was predicated on various court judgments, including the Court of Appeal’s decisions, adding that the court is bound to abide by the decisions for consistency.

In a motion dated October 30 but filed on November 2, 2023, the governor, through his legal team led by a former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF), Godwin Kanu Agabi (SAN), urged the court to strike out some grounds of the appeal for being incompetent.

He equally filed a notice of preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court to adjudicate on the appeal.

Agabi drew the court’s attention to the fact that the nomination and sponsorship of a candidate for election is purely an internal affair of a political party, which the court has no jurisdiction to entertain.

He submitted that the word qualification used by the petitioner is misleading as the issue raised by the petition bordered on nomination and sponsorship.

The court finally entered judgment in favour of the appellant.

Meanwhile, Mutfwang has described the verdict of the court as a temporary setback.

A statement by the governor’s Director of Press and Public Affairs (DOPPA), Mr Gyang Bere last night maintained that the judgment would not deter Mutfwang’s plans of repositioning the state toward steady growth and development.

Mutfwang expressed strong optimism that his mandate would be restored.

He said, “I want to assure the people of Plateau that the mandate they overwhelmingly gave me will be restored; I have instructed my legal team to file an appeal at the Supreme Court.

“I hereby admonish citizens of the state and supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to remain calm, for as long as God remains on the throne, the mandate of the people will not be tampered with.

“I want to also reiterate my commitment to the rule of law and assure you all that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

”I have unwavering faith in the judiciary and the Constitution of Nigeria.”

He appealed to the citizens of the state to be law abiding, adding that the judgment is a temporary setback.