The National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Jos has declared Nigeria’s Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, as the winner of the Plateau South senatorial election.
Lalong, the immediate past governor of Plateau State, contested the February 25 National Assembly election for the Plateau South Senatorial District under the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He was, however, defeated in the February 25 National Assembly election by Napoleon Bali of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
But in a judgment on Monday, the tribunal nullified the election of Bali. It held that the votes scored by Bali and the PDP were wasted votes.
According to the ruling, Bali was invalidly nominated because, at the time of his nomination, the PDP had no valid structure in Plateau State.
It ordered the INEC to withdraw the certificate of return earlier issued to Senator Bali.
