- The Independent National Electoral Commission had declared Napoleon Bali as the winner with 148,844 votes, while Lalong received 91,674 votes for second place in the February 25 elections.
- The tribunal, led by Justice Muhammad Tukur, ruled that the PDP, lacking a structure, lacked the right to participate in the election.
The participation of the PDP and its Senatorial candidate in the Feb.25 National Assembly Election, Napoleon Bali for the Plateau South Senatorial District of Plateau State, was declared null and void by the Court of Appeal on Tuesday due to failure to carry with the Court’s decision.
The Appellate Court, in a judgement delivered by Justice Elfaida Williams-Dawodu, deemed the votes cast for the PDP in the election to be illegal and wasted, and declared former Gov. Simon Lalong to be the Senator for the Plateau South Senatorial District.
Lalong, who ran on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), finished second in the Feb. Senatorial election.
Justice Williams-Dawodu held that the PDP and its candidate have no legal ground to participate in the election having failed to obey the judgment of a Plateau High Court.
The court added that the party should conduct lawful elections for the purpose of having officers for Wards, Local Governments and State Council.
The Plateau High Court had in 2022 ordered PDP to conduct elections for selection of officers for Wards, Local Governments and the State Chapter of the party which was not complied with.
The Court of Appeal said that disobedience and disregard to clear lawful order of Court was fatal because PDP hurriedly put an illegal Caretaker Committee in place in confrontation to the Court judgment.
Specifically, the Appellate Court held that PDP did not sponsor any candidate for the Plateau South Senatorial District because it was not qualified to stand for any election as at Feb. 25, 2023.
“As at Feb. 25, PDP was on a faulty background at nomination of candidate for any election. It has no legal foundation upon which it’s candidate nomination can stand.
“A positive order of Court must be complied with unless such order is voided and set aside by a higher Court.
“In the instant case, the lawful existing and subsisting Court order was that PDP should conduct elections in line with provisions of the law to have officers at Wards, Local Governments and State Council but the party for reasons best known to it, opted to go against the order.
“I cannot but agree totally with the judgment of the Plateau National Assembly Election Tribunal which in Sept. 11, 2023 nullified the participation of PDP in the Feb. 25 National Assembly Election”.
The Court of Appeal subsequently upheld the declaration of Simon Lalong as the lawful Senator for Plateau South Senatorial District having scored second highest votes at the election.
Other Justices of the Court of Appeal who agreed with the judgment are Mohammed Mustapha and Okon Abang.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Simon Lalong, the immediate past Gov. of Plateau is currently the Minister of Labour in President Bola Tinubu’s administration.