The Zamfara state governorship election petition tribunal has dismissed Matawalle’s petition and affirmed the election of Dauda Lawal as governor of the state.

Lawal defeated Bello Matawalle, the immediate former governor of Zamfara, in the March 18 election. Kassimu Shehu, the returning officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), said Lawal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) polled 377,726 votes to defeat Matawalle, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who secured a total of 311,976 votes. Matawalle, now minister of state for defence, had gone to the tribunal to challenge the outcome of the election. He accused INEC of subverting his victory at the polls by failing to include the results of some ward areas.

However, the tribunal in a judgment on Monday, held that the petition was devoid of merit. The court also awarded the N500,000 fine against the petitioners. Reacting to the judgment, Sulaiman Idris, spokesperson to the governor, said the verdict further affirms the will of the Zamfara people. “The judgement was not surprising but rather an affirmation of the collective decision made by the unwavering people of Zamfara,” Idris said.

“Governor Dauda Lawal emerged victorious in the governorship election with an impressive margin of 65,750 votes. “Let it be known that this victory belongs to all the people of Zamfara, not just the Governor and his party.

“The judgement would encourage Governor Lawal to continue with his resolve to fulfil his mandate and work tirelessly to ensure that the people of Zamfara state experience the benefits of good governance.“Governor Dauda Lawal’s rescue mission, which began on May 29th after his administration was sworn in, has already made remarkable strides in improving security, education, infrastructure, and agriculture.”