The Abuja-based Court of Appeal, on Wednesday, deferred its decision in the appeal filed by Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, challenging the tribunal’s verdict that declared David Ombugad of the Peoples Democratic Party as the winner of the state’s gubernatorial election.
Justice Ezekiel Ajayi, leading the tribunal, had rendered a divided judgment asserting that Ombugadu secured the majority of valid votes based on evidence from various polling units.
Governor Sule, dissatisfied with the tribunal’s decision, lodged an appeal with the appellate court, seeking to overturn the ruling.
During the recent hearing, Governor Sule’s counsel, Wole Olanipekun SAN, argued that the tribunal misapplied the law in its judgment. He contended that the tribunal erroneously relied on the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System machine without proper demonstration by the petitioners or the court.
Olanipekun further asserted that there was no evidence of overvoting in the Independent National Electoral Commission Form EC8AS presented by the petitioners, yet the tribunal annulled the election.
In response, Kanu Agabi SAN, the lawyer for the PDP candidate, argued that the tribunal thoroughly analyzed the BVAS, contrary to Olanipekun’s claims. He emphasized that if a court has examined exhibits before it, the judgment cannot be deemed unfair.
Agabi urged the court to dismiss the appeal, citing time constraints that prevented him from presenting additional arguments.
The Court of Appeal, however, opted to reserve judgment on the matter.
