By Damilare Adeleye
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has nullified the election victory of Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State.
The appellate court led by a three-member panel of Justices, while ruling on Sunday, unanimously held that Mutfwang was not validly nominated and sponsored by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to participate in the gubernatorial contest that held on March 18.
They stated that all the votes that were credited to him and the PDP during the election amounted to wasted votes.
Consequently, Justice Elfrieda Williams-Dawodu, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to withdraw the Certificate of Return that it earlier issued to Mutfwang of the PDP as winner of the governorship poll.
It ordered that the candidate that got the second majority lawful votes at the election, should be sworn in as governor of the state.
The Court added that the first runner-up has satisfied all the requirements under relevant sections and is hereby accordingly returned.
The judgement followed an appeal that was lodged against governor Muftwang’s election by Mr. Nentawe Goshwe, governorship candidate of the All Progressive Congress, APC, in the state.
INEC had declared that Mutfwang of the PDP won the gubernatorial contest with a total of 525,299 votes, ahead of the APC candidate, Goshwe, who polled 481,370 votes.
Not satisfied with the outcome of the election, Goshwe went before the Plateau State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal to challenge it.
He, among other things, contended that the PDP lacked a political structure in the states and was therefore incapable of validly nominating or sponsoring any candidate for the governorship poll.