Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun who read the lead judgment held that the appeal filed by Jibrin Barde, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lacked merit.
The victory of Gombe State Governor, Inuwa Yahaya during the 2023 election was upheld on Friday by the Supreme Court in Abuja.
Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun who read the lead judgment held that the appeal filed by Jibrin Barde, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lacked merit.
Thus, he declared that Yahaya, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 election, was validly re-elected by the people of Gombe as governor.
Yahaya was re-elected in March 2023 for his second term as the state governor.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Yahaya as the winner of the election.
The electoral body said Yahaya received 342,821 votes to defeat his closest rival, Barde, who polled 233,131 votes.
Barde had approached the court for redress and possible nullification of Yahaya’s re-election.
Barde had accused Yahaya’s supporters of stuffing ballot boxes and engaging in other election malpractice in nine of the state’s 11 local government areas in his petition filed before the election petitions tribunal in the state.
But his petition was dismissed by the tribunal.
He, therefore, proceeded to the Court of Appeal for a review of the judgement of the tribunal but his appeal also failed there.
Justice T. N Orji-Abadua of the Appeal Court in November upheld the governor’s victory and dismissed the appeal, saying it “lacks merit”.