In a recent development, the Appeal Court sitting in Abuja has upheld the judgment of the tribunal, declaring the Minister of Labour, Simon Lalong, as the winner of the Plateau South Senatorial election.
Initially, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Napoleon Bali of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the election with 148,844 votes, while Simon Lalong scored 91,674 votes, securing the second position in the February 25, 2023 elections.
Lalong contested the results and asked the tribunal to nullify Bali’s election on the grounds that the PDP did not have a proper party structure and, therefore, could not field candidates for the elections.
In a unanimous judgment read by Justice Muhammad Tukur, the tribunal ruled that the PDP, due to its lack of a proper party structure, did not have the right to participate in the election. The tribunal held that the votes secured by Bali were considered “wasted votes.”
Following this decision, Napoleon Bali appealed to the Court of Appeal, seeking to set aside the tribunal’s judgment.
The three-man panel of the Appeal Court, led by Justice Elfrieda Williams-Dawodu, concluded that the matter involved both pre and post-election issues. They determined that the tribunal’s consideration of the matter was correct.
Justice Williams-Dawodu also noted that the PDP had failed to adhere to existing orders requiring the conduct of a new congress in the state. She emphasized that orders of the court, as outlined in Section 287 of the Nigerian Constitution, are binding and must be observed by all parties. Therefore, the appeal was dismissed, and the tribunal’s judgment was affirmed.
This ruling solidifies Simon Lalong’s victory in the Plateau South Senatorial election and concludes the legal challenges surrounding the contest.