The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, has removed the Speaker of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, Abubakar Suleiman, from his seat as the representative of Ningi Central Constituency. In its judgment on Friday, the appellate court directed a rerun in 10 polling units within the constituency.
Suleiman, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had been declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the Ningi Central Constituency election held on March 18th. He secured victory with 16,866 votes, defeating his closest rival, Khalid Abdulmalik-Ningi of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who scored 15,065 votes.
However, dissatisfaction with the election results led Abdulmalik-Ningi to file a petition with the Governorship and State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal. The tribunal dismissed the case, affirming Suleiman’s victory for a second term.
Unhappy with the tribunal’s ruling, Abdulmalik-Ningi appealed to the Court of Appeal. The three-man panel of the appellate court set aside the tribunal’s judgment and ordered a rerun in 10 polling units.
In response, Suleiman, in a statement through his spokesperson, Abdul Burra, described the judgment as a minor political setback. Despite considering the ruling unfavorable, Suleiman called on his supporters to remain calm, expressing confidence in winning the rerun.
The statement read: “He said that although the judgment is unfavorable, as a Muslim, he believes in all fates, thus he accepts the judgment in good faith… Conducting a rerun in ten polling units that are his stronghold is just like a walkover, wondering why his opponents insisted on extending their pain of election defeat.”