… dismisses APC candidate’s petition for being baseless, lacking merit
The National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Kaduna, on Saturday, upheld the election of Senator Lawal Adamu Usman.
Consequently, the Tribunal declared Senator Usman, fondly called Mr. LA, of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the winner of the Kaduna Central Senatorial District election held on February 25, 2023.
The Tribunal, however, dismissed the petition filed by Muhammad Sani Abdullahi (Dattijo) of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The APC candidate had asked the Tribunal to nullify Senator Usman’s election on the grounds of some alleged irregularities.
But the Tribunal in its judgement said that Abdullahi and his party, the APC failed to provide substantial evidence to prove all the allegations contained in their petition.
It noted that all the witnesses presented by the petitioners before the Tribunal failed to provide convincing evidence to warrant the nullification of Senator Usman’s election due to the inconsistencies in the information given by the witnesses under cross-examination.
It further said that the petitioners and their witnesses failed to provide evidence of all the allegations contained in their petition against Senator Usman’s election.
The Tribunal, in a unanimous decision read by its Chairman, Justice HH Kereng, therefore, held that the election of the first respondent, Senator Usman, has duly complied with the electoral guidelines.
It also ruled that Senator Usman was legitimately nominated by his party, the PDP.
The Tribunal also held that Senator Usman was duly elected by a majority of votes casts in the February 25, 2023 general elections.
The Tribunal also held that Senator Usman was duly qualified during the election.
It also dismissed the petitioners’ allegation that Senator Usman forged his educational certificates, declaring the petitioners’ claim as baseless, as this had been found out not to be true.
The Tribunal, therefore, dismissed Abdullahi and his party, APC’s petition.
It consequently struck out the case and confirmed Senator Lawal Adamu Usman as the legitimately elected and duly returned Senator of the Kaduna Central Senatorial Zone.
