Supreme Court Set To Deliver Judgments On Five Governorship Appeals Today

On Friday, the Supreme Court is set to deliver judgments on appeals contesting the outcomes of elections in Gombe, Kebbi, Ogun, Kaduna, Nasarawa, and Delta states.

Already the apex court had last week decided the fate of 10 state governors.

The governors are Hyacinth Alia of Benue; Alex Otti of Abia, Dauda Lawal of Zamfara; Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, and Bala Mohammed of Bauchi.

Others are Cross River governor, Bassey Otu; Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Nwifuru; Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuff; Akwa Ibom Governor, Umo Eno, and Plateau State governor, Caleb Mutfwang.

In all the decided cases so far, no governor has been sacked from office.

Among matters slated for judgments today, Nasarawa State stands out.

Amid concerns of likely violence after the judgment both the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party entered into a peace agreement.

The tribunal had sacked the governor, Abdullahi Sule, and declared David Ombugadu, candidate of the PDP as the winner of the March 18, 2023 election.

But the appeal court reinstated Sule and held that the tribunal wrongly relied on the evidence of eight of the PDP witnesses, whose statements on oath were not front-loaded alongside the petition.

Also of interest is the Delta State governorship appeal.

Ken Pella of the Labour Party and Ovie Omo-Agege of the APC challenged the victory of Sheriff Oborevwori as the governor of Delta State.

in Ogun, Ladi Adebutu of the PDPis challenging the victory of Governor Dapo Abiodun.

Meanwhile, the roads leading to the apex court have been cordoned off from the Head of Civil Service office.

Also, accredited litigants, journalists, and party faithful were subjected to thorough checks before being allowed to the court premises.

As of the time of filing this report,  security operatives are having a hectic time controlling the crowd who have come to observe proceedings.