Supreme Court Reserves Judgment on Lagos Governorship Appeal, Adjourns Plateau Hearing

• Supreme Court reserves judgment in Lagos governorship election appeal filed by Labour Party and Peoples Democratic Party against Sanwo-Olu’s victory
• Separate case involving Plateau sees Supreme Court adjourn hearing to January 9 for proper service on INEC

The Supreme Court has decided to reserve judgment in the appeal related to the Lagos State governorship elections that took place on March 18. A five-member panel of justices, led by Inyang Okoro, heard arguments from lawyers on Tuesday and subsequently reserved judgment in the matter.

The appeals in Lagos were filed by the Labour Party (LP) and its candidate, Bode Rhodes-Vivour, as well as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Abdulazeez Adediran. Both parties challenged the victory of Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the governorship elections.

In a separate case involving Plateau, the Supreme Court adjourned the hearing initially scheduled for Tuesday to January 9. This postponement was to allow the proper service of processes on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The Court of Appeal in Abuja had, on November 19, overturned the decision of the election tribunal, nullifying the election of Governor Caleb Mutfwang. The three-member panel unanimously held that Mutfwang was not validly sponsored by the PDP, as required by Section 285(2) of the Nigerian Constitution.

APC Confident of Victory in Fresh Kano Elections, Says Senatorial Candidate Zaura

Abdulsalam Abdulkarim Zaura, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Kano central senatorial district in the 2023 election, expressed confidence that the APC would emerge victorious if fresh elections were conducted in the state. Zaura asserted that the voters, who were misled into supporting the opposition New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), have realized their mistakes and are now regretting their actions.

During the last general election, APC faced defeats in the presidential, governorship, and many national and state legislative seats, losing ground to the newly formed NNPP in Kano. Speaking to journalists in Abuja, Zaura attributed APC’s poor performance to the consequences of currency swap and fuel scarcity during the 2023 general election.

Zaura highlighted the hardships imposed on the people by these policies of the APC-led government, which turned voters against the ruling party. He pointed to the Naira swap policy as a significant factor, stating that changing the color of the Naira led to a scarcity of the currency, making it difficult for people to access money for their daily needs.