Confusion in Kaduna state election tribunal judgement as PDP candidate Ashiru rejects verdict

The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kaduna State, Isa Ashiru, has rejected Thursday’s judgement of the state’s governorship election petition tribunal and urged his supporters to remain law abiding while he pursues the appeal process.

The tribunal, led by Victor Oviawie, in its verdict on Thursday, dismissed Mr Ashiru’s petition on technical grounds, while also signalling the petition would have been successful but for the procedural breach the petitioner committed.

The court, before delving into the merit of the case, dismissed the petition by upholding the preliminary objections filed against it, holding that the petitioners failed to apply for the issuance of pre-hearing notice within the stipulated time.

The breach, according to the tribunal, implied that the petitioners had abandoned their case and it was, therefore, liable to be dismissed.

It was a contentious decision, with three members of the tribunal splitting two-to-one in both the ruling on preliminary ruling and the substantive judgement.

The majority decision found merit in the petition but it amounted to nothing based on the majority ruling on the preliminary issue that dismissed the case on technical grounds.

Revealing what the decision would have been if the procedural breach had been averted by the petitioner, the tribunal ruled that it would have ordered a supplementary election in 22 polling units within 90 days.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the tribunal upheld the election of Governor Uba Sani of the APC, after dismissing the PDP’s petition.

Why I will challenge the tribunal’s victory – Ashiru
However, Mr. Ashiru, in a statement he personally signed and issued on Thursday, expressed his determination to challenge the tribunal’s decision by taking the case to the court of appeal.

“Given the ruling of the Kaduna State election tribunal, it has become necessary to share with our supporters, the true position of the ruling.

“On the preliminary objection, the tribunal, based on the majority of 2:1 judges upheld the preliminary objection of the respondent to the effect that the application for pre-hearing was done prematurely i.e. before the service of the last set of petitioners’ reply to the 2nd respondent’s reply to the petition was served.

“However, the law enjoins the tribunal, as a trial court, to proceed to pronounce on the merit of the substantive suit so that in the event the court of appeal finds that the trial tribunal was wrong in its decision on the preliminary objection, it would have the benefit of pronouncing on the decision of the tribunal in the substantive matter.

“Accordingly, the trial tribunal finds merit in the aspect of the petitioner’s case relative to the margin of win between the two leading candidates. The tribunal by a split decision of 2:1 accordingly, nullified the election of the governor of Kaduna state, ordered that the Certificate of Return be retrieved and fresh elections be conducted in some polling units in 4 LGAs and the outcome thereof be reckoned with before the declaration of the winner of the governorship election in Kaduna state.

“I want to again thank the people of the state while urging them all to remain law abiding while we pursue the appeal process.

“One thing I can assure the good people Kaduna state is that I will pursue this mandate you freely gave me to its logical conclusion and by the grace of God, victory on our side.”

If the judgement ordering a rerun in 22 polling units was the binding decision of the tribunal and is eventually upheld by the Supreme Court, it would throw Governor Sani of the APC into a tight race to retain his seat, as he only led the PDP candidate with less than 11,000 votes in the disputed 18 March governorship poll.