- Gov. Abdullahi Sule plans to appeal the Governorship Elections Petition Tribunal’s decision nullifying his election win in Nasarawa state
- Despite the setback, Sule remains in office pending the Supreme Court’s decision, urging supporters to avoid street protests or online conflicts
Gov. Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa state has announced that he will appeal the majority decision of the Governorship Elections Petition Tribunal in Lafia, which nullified his declaration as the winner of the March 18 election.
This was stated by the governor on Monday in Lafia in response to the tribunal’s skewed decision.
He stated that the judgment was a temporary setback that they would use to rethink their strategy and emerge stronger.
“I still remain the governor till the Supreme Court decides otherwise because the law allows me to appeal and we will do that to reclaim our mandate,” Sule stated.
The governor urged his supporters to remain calm and refrain from taking the law into their own hands through street protests.
He warned APC youths and supporters not to respond to the opposition, especially on social media.
In a split decision, the tribunal declared Gov. Sule of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the rightful owner of the election. It declared Mr David Ombugadu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) the rightful owner of the election.
The majority judgment was read aloud by the tribunal’s Chairman, Justice Ezekiel Ajayi.
Justice Chiemelie Onaga, a panel member, agreed with the panel chairman’s lead judgment.
Justice Ibrahim Mashi delivered the only dissenting opinion, dismissing the petition filed by the PDP candidate and upholding the INEC’s declaration of the governor.