The Supreme Court yesterday sacked Governor Usman Saidu Nasamu Dakingari of Kebbi State from office. The order was sequel to an appeal lodged before the apex court by the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and its candidate in the April 26, 2011 governorship election in the state, Malam Abubakar Abubakar. In the lead judgment delivered by a five-man panel, Justice Walter Onnoghen set aside the Appeal Court decision which upheld the election of Dakingari while ordering a re-run within 90 days.
While setting-aside the appellate court’s verdict on the premise that it was legally defective, the Supreme Court noted that the lower court erred in law when it deferred the reasons behind its judgment till a date outside the 60 days stipulated in the constitution for the determination of governorship appeals.
Justice Onnoghen particularly observed that the Appeal Court judgment of December 29, 2011, which allowed the appeals of Dakingari did not adduce reasons for this either along with the decision or within the 14 days allowed for appeals, adding that the reason for the judgment which was eventually given on January 23, 2012, is not within the 60 days allowed the lower court to hear and determine election appeals as stipulated in section 285 (7) of the Constitution.
“The judgment of the Court of Appeal in appeals no CA/EPT/GOV/31/2011 delivered on 29 December, 2011 and 23 January, 2012 is hereby set aside and in its place, the judgment of the Kebbi State Governorship Elections Petitions Tribunal in petition no: EPT/KB/GOV/1/2011 delivered on the 13th day of November, 2011 is hereby affirmed, subject to the variation that the ninety (90) days within which INEC is to conduct a fresh election into the office of Governor of Kebbi State shall commence to run from today, being the date of judgment,” the judge ruled.
Specifically, the constitutional flaw could be traced into the fact that while the Appeal Court gave its judgment on December 29, 2011, it was unable to justify the verdict with reasons until January 24, 2012. The judge however suggested an amendment of the timeframe for election petitions by the National Assembly as to the provisions of Section 294 (5) of the constitution.
Reacting to the judgment, both parties involved in the case have accepted the verdict in good faith and are getting ready to return to the trenches for a fresh election.
Speaking to Weekly Trust, the Special Adviser to Dakingari on Legal Matters, Mr. Abubakar Abdullahi, said they will comply with the decision of the apex court by preparing for election.
However, the Special Assistant to the CPC Governorship Candidate, Abdullahi Idris Zuru, described the judgment as a victory for democracy. “It has shown that it is only in Kebbi State that unprecedented massive electoral fraud took place in the last election and the former Governor of Kebbi State, Saidu Usman Dakingari was a product of electoral malpractice,” he said.
Zuru commended the judges for upholding the supremacy of the constitution, sanctity of the judiciary and protecting the nascent democracy and people of Kebbi to be hopeful and steadfast to bring “progressive change”.
Meanwhile, the State Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Alhaji Isa Assalafy, said they are determined to win the ordered elections as convincing as they won the past one which he said was free and fair and a reflection of the will of the masses, adding that Saidu Usman Dakingari remains the only candidate of the party and the choice of the people of the state.
Corroborating Assalafy’s stand, another PDP chieftain in the state, Alhaji Amadu Nasani, said this time around, they will embark on massive campaigns for the victory of the party’s candidate, Saidu Dakingari as “the basis for the nullification was not electoral fraud but technicalities.”
It would be recalled that the CPC, Malam Abubakar Abubakar, had on May 18, 2011, challenged the election of Dakingari of the PDP in the April 26, 2011 elections on grounds of irregularities.
Meanwhile, Speaker of Kebbi State House of Assembly, Alhaji Aminu Musa Habib Jega, has been sworn-in as the Acting Governor of the state, following the Supreme Court’s judgment. The oath of office was administered by Chief Judge Ibrahim Umar at a low-key swearing in ceremony held last night at the Government House. Other than the oath of office, the Acting Governor kept mum.
