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Appeal Court Sacks Kaduna Assembly Speaker
The court further directed INEC to conduct a rerun election in five polling units
Abuja, Nigeria – The Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, has declared the election of Hon. Yusuf Liman, the Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, null and void.
The ruling, which comes as a result of an appeal, has sent shockwaves through the political landscape, reshaping the power dynamics in the state.
The appellate court, in its judgment, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately withdraw the certificate of return previously issued to Hon. Yusuf Liman, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The court further directed INEC to conduct a rerun election in five polling units (PUs) within the Makera State constituency.
Recall that the Kaduna State Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal had on September 30, 2023, nullified the victory of Liman representing Makera State constituency and ordered a rerun in 42 polling units.
This followed a petition filed before the Tribunal by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Solomon Katuka, challenging the election of Liman.
In the petition, the PDP candidate alleged that there were gross irregularities regarding the election of Liman, arguing that he, and not Liman, actually won March 18, 2023, House of Assembly Election in Makera constituency and therefore ought to have been declared the winner.
Among the affected polling units are 37 PUs in Makera ward, two PUs in Barnawa ward, one PU in Kakuri Gwari ward, one PU in Television ward, and one PU in Kakuri Hausa ward, totalling 42 polling units.
Dissatisfied with the judgement of the Tribunal, the APC candidate and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) filed an appeal against the judgement of the Tribunal.
However, the Appeal Court in a judgement delivered by Justice O. O Adejumo, Justice A . O Oyetula, and Justice P. A Obiora on Friday, November 24, 2023, in Abuja, dismissed the appeal by the Speaker and INEC, and ordered a rerun in five polling units instead of 42 that was ordered by the Tribunal.
The affected polling units where the appellate court ordered rerun include Barnawa ward PU 005 and 009, Kakuri Gwari PU 006, Television Ward PU 022, and Kakuri Hausa Ward PU 045.
As it stands now, APC has 17,470 votes and the PDP polled 17,088.
The court ruled that the election of Liman was nullified on the 382 lead margin, which was less than the number of Permanent Voter Cards collected in the affected polling units