Appeal court dismisses Speaker of Kaduna Assembly, orders rerun in 5 electoral units
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The Abuja-based Court of Appeal has nullified the election of the Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Hon. Yusuf Liman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The appeal court ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the President’s certificate of return and conduct a rerun in five electoral units (PUs) in the Makera State constituency.
Recall that the Kaduna State House of Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal on September 30, 2023 annulled the victory of Liman representing Makera State constituency and ordered a rerun in 42 electoral units.
This followed a petition filed with the Court by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Solomon Katuka, contesting Liman’s election.
This followed a petition filed with the Court by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Solomon Katuka, contesting the election of Liman from the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In the petition, the PDP candidate alleged that there were serious irregularities in relation to Liman’s election, arguing that he, and not Liman, actually won the March 18, 2023 House of Assembly elections in Makera constituency and, therefore, he should have been declared the winner.
Among the affected polling units are 37 UPs in Makera district, two UPs in Barnawa district, one UP in Kakuri Gwari district, one UP in Television district and one UP in Kakuri Hausa district, totaling 42 polling units.
Dissatisfied with the Court’s decision, the APC candidate and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) filed an appeal against the Court’s decision.
However, the Court of Appeal, in a judgment delivered by Justice O. O Adejumo, Justice A . The Oyetula and Justice P. A Obiora on Friday, November 24, 2023, in Abuja, dismissed the appeal of the President and INEC and ordered a rerun in five polling units instead of the 42 ordered by the Court.
The affected electoral units where the appeal court ordered rerun include Barnawa District PU 005 and 009, Kakuri Gwari District PU 006, Television District PU 022 and Kakuri Hausa District PU 045.
As it stands now, the APC has 17,470 votes and the PDP got 17,088.
The court ruled that Liman’s election was annulled by the margin of 382 leads, which was less than the number of Permanent Voter Cards collected from the affected polling units
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Source: www.lindaikejisblog.com