The Court of Appeal in Abuja has invalidated the election of Simon Mwadkwon, the Senate Minority Leader from the PDP, who represented Plateau North Senatorial District.
This decision was handed down by the Appeal Court, led by Justice Elfreda Oluwayemisi Williams-Dawodu JCA, on the grounds that the PDP did not properly nominate Mwadkwon, thus mandating a fresh election to be conducted within 90 days.
On March 1, 2023, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Mwadkwon, a member of the PDP, as the winner with 155,681 votes, defeating Gyang Yaya Zi from the Labour Party, who garnered 79,831 votes, and Giwa Musa Christopher from the APC, with 78,392 votes.
Dissatisfied with the outcome, the APC/Giwa Christopher (EPT/PL/SEN/01/2023) and LP’s Azi (EPT/SEN/04/2024) approached the tribunal.
In their respective petitions, they argued, among other points, that Mwadkwon was ineligible to run for election because the PDP had not complied with an earlier order by the state’s High Court to conduct a proper state congress, rendering the party’s nomination invalid.
On August 24, 2023, the tribunal, led by Justice Muhammed Muhammed, ruled that the Labour Party (LP) Senatorial candidate, Gyang Zi, did not have the legal standing to challenge the PDP’s nomination of Senator Mwadkon as the party’s candidate in the 2023 general elections and dismissed the petition.
“The issue of nomination and sponsorship of candidates is basically pre-election matters and purely internal affairs of political parties and therefore, it is within the domestic domain of the 3rd respondent (PDP).
“The petitioners lack the necessary locus standi to challenge the nomination and sponsorship of the 2nd respondent by the 3rd respondent. Ground one of the petition is purely pre-election matter which can only be entertained at the Federal High Court, and candidates or aspirants who contested primaries with the 2nd respondent that are in position to seek redress.”
On the issue of non compliance with Electoral Act 2023 as alleged by the petitioners, the Tribunal held that the petitioners did not lay genuine facts and substantial evidence on that ground. The tribunal ruled that the petitioner should have brought eyewitnesses from the polling units (polling units agents) to prove over-voting, and non-compliance with the electoral act but they failed.
On 25th August, the tribunal led by Justice William Rotimi Olamide ruled against the APC Candidate: “This Petition is ineffective and affected by so many terminal diseases and no medicine on earth can cure it.”
