The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has scheduled Friday, November 17, for the judgment in the appeal Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf filed to contest his dismissal by the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal.
A three-man panel of judges led by Justice Oluyemi Akintan Osadebay on September 20, 2023, sacked Yusuf, by ruling that 165,663 of his votes were void because they were not signed or stamped by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The governor’s votes were then reduced to 853,939 while those of Nasir Ganuwa, his All Progressives Congress (APC) rival remained at 890,705.
Yusuf had rejected the tribunal verdict, which he described as “unfair” and “a miscarriage of justice”, and headed to the appeal court.
At the court, Wole Olanipekun, SAN, lead for Yusuf, prayed that the judgement of the tribunal be set aside.
Akin Olujimi SAN, the APC’s attorney, shot back, stating that the Appeal Court had clearly indicated that the failure to sign ballots constituted electoral fraud.
He argued that INEC rules specify what presiding officers must do during the polls, adding that the back of ballot papers must be signed and dated.
The court had reserved judgement, saying a date would be communicated to the parties involved, on Thursday, the court announced that judgment would be delivered on Friday.
