The Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, has been sacked from office by the Appeal Court in Abuja.
The lead Justice, Elfrieda Williams-Dawodu, made this ruling on Sunday. She ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to give a Certificate of Return to Nentawe Goshwe, the candidate of the All Progressive Congress.
Justice Williams-Dawodu criticized the Tribunal’s decision to uphold Governor Mutfwang’s election, calling it extremely inadequate.
The court has ruled that the tribunal’s decision to dismiss the petition filed by the APC and its candidate is a violation of the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act.
The tribunal claimed that the APC and its candidate had no right to interfere in the affairs of the PDP, but the court disagreed. The court also disagreed with the tribunal’s view that the issues raised in the petition were only pre-election matters.
According to the court, these issues were both pre-election and post-election matters and should not have been considered as status barred. The court cited section 177 of the Constitution, stating that Mutfwang was not properly endorsed by the PDP during the election.
The court ruled that the party had violated a court order by only conducting congress in five out of the 17 local government areas of the state. As a result, the congress was considered invalid.
The decision of the Plateau State Election Petitions Tribunal was dismissed by the court, which stated that the issue of qualification is relevant both before and after the election. This contradicted the tribunal’s findings that the appellant did not have the right to question the validity of the respondent.
The court emphasized that according to section 134 of the Electoral Act, a political party has the exclusive right to endorse its candidate if they meet the required qualifications.
Additionally, the court invoked section 136 of the Electoral Act and directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to take back the certificate of return given to Governor Mutfwang and issue a new one to Goshwe.
Justice Okon Abang supported the ruling and stated that unless the PDP resolves its problems in Plateau State, it will continue to face self-inflicted misfortune.
