The Supreme Court has upheld the election victory of Dauda Lawal from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the Governor of Zamfara State. The court’s decision, delivered on January 12, overturned the Court of Appeal’s ruling, which had initially declared the governorship election in Zamfara State inconclusive.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Bello Matawalle, had filed a petition challenging the victory of Dauda Lawal. The Court of Appeal had earlier declared the election inconclusive and ordered a rerun in three specific local government areas: Maradun, Birnin-Magaji, and Bukkuyum. The Court of Appeal held that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was wrong to use results from the IReV (Integrated Result Viewing) for declaring the winner in the affected LGAs, stating that IReV was not part of the collation system but intended for viewing purposes.
In the lead judgment at the Supreme Court, delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the court described the decision of the Court of Appeal as perverse. The judge emphasized that the respondents failed to provide substantial evidence supporting their allegations of overvoting, among other issues. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Dauda Lawal, overturning the inclusive election order and confirming his victory.
