The Supreme Court has upheld the election of Okezie Ikpeazu as governor of Abia State and Ifeanyi Okowa as governor of Delta State.
Justice Paul Galinje, leading a seven-member panel on Wednesday, read the court’s unanimous judgement.
The apex court dismissed the appeal by Great Ogboru of the All Progressives Congress (APC) challenging the victory of Okowa and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The court also dismissed the appeal by Alex Otti of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) challenging Ikpeazu’s victory.
Justice Galinje said the appellant’s reliance solely on the smart card readers in proving the alleged over-voting was fatal to his case.
Galinje said the law clearly states that the petitioner must tender the voters’ register, and should relate the document to the specific area where the documents were affected.
According to the judge, the card reader printout tendered by the appellants at the tribunal cannot be inserted into the constitution or electoral act which stipulates the yardstick for proving over-voting.
The Supreme Court also upheld the election of Governor Abubakar Bello of Niger State and dismissed the petition filed by Mohammed Nasko of the PDP against Bello’s victory.
