The Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal in Kaduna State has dismissed the preliminary objection filed by the State Governor, Uba Sani, on the timeliness of the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party and its governorship candidate, Isah Ashiru.
Sani’s legal team argued that the petition put forward by the petitioners was filed outside the 21-day window allowed by the law.
In response, the three-man panel led by Justice Victor Oviawe affirmed that the petition was filed on April 10, 2023, thereby dismissing the argument of Sani – the second respondent.
Meanwhile, personnel of the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies have been stationed at various locations in Kaduna, Kaduna State capital ahead of the state Governorship Election Petition Tribunal judgement on Thursday morning.
The tribunal had slated the delivery of its judgement on Zoom.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Isah Mohammed Ashiru, had petitioned against Uba Sani of the All Progressives Congress (APC) being elected governor of Kaduna.
Uba Sani was declared the winner of the 2023 governorship election in Kaduna State by the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC)in March, after polling a total of 730,002 votes to defeat his closest rival, Isa Ashiru of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who polled 719,196 votes.
The Labour Party (LP) candidate, Jonathan Asake, came a distant third with 58,283 votes while the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) candidate, Suleiman Hunkuyi, scored 21,405 votes.
