Supreme Court to hear Zamfara Governorship Election Petition on Wednesday

The Supreme Court of Nigeria has scheduled the hearing of the Zamfara Governorship Election Petition for Wednesday, December 20, 2023.

The petition was filed by the Governor of the state, Dauda Lawal, who is challenging the judgement of the Court of Appeal, ordering rerun in three local government areas of the state, namely; Maradun, Birnin-Magaji, and Bukkuyum.

The Appeal Court upturned the ruling of the tribunal which affirmed the declaration of Dauda by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the winner of the March 18 governorship election in the state.

Matawalle, who contested under the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC) had approached the tribunal, challenging the validity of the election that brought in Dauda Lawal as the governor of the state.

He alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had excluded the result sheet of 98,564 votes in the Maradun Local Government Area, and that the elections were not concluded in some council areas of the state, but a winner was declared.

Lawal, who ran under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) banner, denied the allegations and prayed the tribunal to dismiss the petition for lack of merit. He cited a case of Oyetola versus Ademola, saying that the petitioner failed to prove his case.

The Zamfara State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Sokoto, had earlier dismissed the petition filed by Matawalle and affirmed the election of Lawal as the governor of the state.

The Supreme Court will now hear the arguments of both parties and deliver its final verdict on the Zamfara Governorship Election Petition, which has been a subject of legal battles since March 2023.

The outcome of the hearing will determine the fate of Lawal, who has been governing the state for nine months, and Matawalle, who is seeking to reclaim his former position.