The Supreme Court has upheld the electoral victories of Governors Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, Kefas Agbu of Taraba State, and Ahmed Aliyu of Sokoto State.
The Supreme Court, in separate judgments, dismissed the various appeals for lacking merit. Notably, the Court of Appeal in Lagos had previously affirmed Siminalayi Fubara’s election as the governor of Rivers State on November 28, 2023.
The court dismissed the petition filed by the All Progressives Congress candidate in Rivers State, Patrick Tonye-Cole, against Siminalayi Fubara of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). In the Taraba State case, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal filed by Prof. Yahaya Sani of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), stating that it grossly lacked merit. Sani had sought to overturn the victory of Governor Kefas Agbu in the March 18, 2023, governorship election, citing alleged noncompliance with the Electoral Act, irregularities, and other malpractices, but the appellate court dismissed the appeal for lacking merit.
The Supreme Court also upheld the election of Ahmad Aliyu as governor of Sokoto State. Aliyu, the APC candidate, had won the governorship election with 453,661 votes, defeating Sai’du Umar of the PDP who secured 404,632 votes. Despite Umar’s allegations of certificate forgery and electoral fraud, the tribunal ruled that the petitioners failed to prove the six grounds in their petition.