JUST-IN: A’Court Affirms Inuwa As Gombe Governor, Dismisses PDP’s Case

• Barde then appealed to the Court of Appeal, but the appellate court upheld the tribunal’s decision.
• Barde filed a petition with the Gombe State Governorship Election Tribunal, alleging election process irregularities like thumb printing and ballot box stuffing, but the tribunal dismissed his petition due to lack of merit.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for governor of Gombe State, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, was declared the winner of the March 18 governorship election by the Court of Appeal located in Abuja.

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) filed an appeal contesting the election results, but the court dismissed it.

With 342,821 votes, Governor Yahaya was proclaimed the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), with 233,131 votes going to his major opponent, Muhammad Jibrin Barde of the PDP.

However, Barde had approached the Gombe State Governorship Election Tribunal, alleging irregularities in the election process, including multiple thumb printing and ballot box stuffing in nine local government areas of the state. However, the tribunal dismissed Barde’s petition for lacking merit.

Barde then appealed to the Court of Appeal, but the appellate court upheld the tribunal’s decision.

“We have considered all the issues and have agreed that the appeal is void of merit,” the Appeal Court ruled.