Sunday Aborisade in Abuja
Deputy President of the Senate, Jibrin Barau, on Wednesday swore in Amos Yohanna as the new senator representing Adamawa North Senatorial District.
Yohanna, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) member, replaces Senator Elisha Abbo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who was sacked by the Appeal Court Monday, last week.
Delivering judgment on Monday, the three-member panel presided over by Justice C.E. Nwosu-Iheme, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue a Certificate of Return to Yohanna as the duly elected lawmaker representing the district in the National Assembly.
The appellate court vacated the tribunal judgment which had earlier affirmed Abbo as the winner of the senatorial election.
INEC had declared Abbo the winner of the February 25, 2023 parliamentary election.
But aggrieved by the electoral body’s decision, the PDP and Yohanna went to the tribunal to challenge the outcome of the election.
In its ruling, the tribunal dismissed Yohanna’s petition for lacking in merit.
Not comfortable with the judgment of the tribunal, the PDP candidate, through his counsel, Johnson Usman (SAN), approached the Appeal Court.
The Court of Appeal, after hearing arguments from the parties, agreed with Usman that based on Section 137 of the Electoral Act, 2022, the results tendered clearly showed that there was no compliance with the Electoral Act.
The court, thereafter, deducted the invalid votes from both parties and found that Yohanna and the PDP won the election by a majority of lawful votes.
In the wake of the judgment, Abbo described it as a coup on democracy but told his supporters to be calm.
Details later…
