Court of Appeal affirms Bala Mohammed as Bauchi Governor

The Abuja Division of the appellate court, on Friday, affirmed the victory of Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State in the March 18 governorship election.

The panel of three justices was unanimous, awarding no cost as the court ruled that each party to the matter should bear their costs.

Vanguard reported earlier that the Deputy Governor of Bauchi State, Aueal Jatau, led a delegation of officials of the state government to the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, for the ruling on the governorship election held in March 2023, which will be delivered today.

Jatau was representing his principal, who is not in the country at the moment; as the delegation includes the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Abubakar Suleiman and the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state, Hamza Akuyam.

Other officials who stormed the court for the judgement were commissioners, special advisers, and other state government officials.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Mohammed of the PDP as the winner of the election.

Following the declaration of Mohammed as the winner, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Sadique Abubakar, approached the governorship election petition tribunal, challenging the victory.

Chairman of the three-man panel, P T. Kwahar, in his judgment, affirmed the victory of  Mohammed, a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.

But not satisfied with the tribunal’s judgment, Abubakar, filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal challenging the decision of the lower court.