The National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Kaduna, on Saturday, upheld the election of Senator Lawal Adamu Usman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for Kaduna Central Senatorial District.
The senatorial election was held on February 25, 2023.
The upholding of the election of Lawal Adamu Usman followed the dismissal of the petition filed against him by the All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate in the election, Muhammad Sani Abdullahi.
The APC candidate had asked the tribunal to nullify Senator Usman’s election on the grounds of some alleged irregularities.
But delivering its judgement in the case, the tribunal said that Abdullahi and his party failed to provide substantial evidence to prove all the allegations contained in their petition.
It noted that all the witnesses presented by the petitioners before the Tribunal failed to provide convincing evidence to warrant the nullification of Senator Usman’s election due to the inconsistencies in the information given by the witnesses under cross-examination.
It further said that the petitioners and their witnesses failed to provide evidence of all the allegations contained in their petition against Senator Usman’s election.
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The tribunal, in a unanimous decision read by its Chairman, Justice H.H. Kereng, therefore, held that the election of the first respondent, Senator Usman, had duly complied with the electoral guidelines.
It also ruled that Senator Usman was legitimately nominated by his party, the PDP.
The tribunal held that Senator Usman was duly elected by a majority of votes cast in the February 25, 2023 general elections, adding that he was duly qualified during the election.
It dismissed the petitioners’ allegation that Senator Usman forged his educational certificates, declaring the petitioners’ claim as baseless.
According to the tribunal the claim was found not to be true.
It consequently struck out the case and confirmed Usman as the legitimately elected and duly returned Senator of Kaduna Central Senatorial District.
