Tribunal Sacks Bwari Council Chairman, Orders Re-run In Kuje

Federal Capital Territory (FCT) election petitions tribunal has invalidated the election of the chairman of Bwari Area Council, John Gabaya, of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

It declared Shekwolo Haruna Audi of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the February 12, 2022 council election.

Delivering the judgment by a three members panel led by the chief magistrate, Muinat Olashade Oyekan, the tribunal said Gabaya did not win the majority of lawful votes cast during the chairmanship election in the area.

She said that the APC candidate scored the highest number of votes more than the PDP candidate and that results of some identified polling units at some political wards were not recorded for the APC candidate during the last council polls.

Oyekan, therefore, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Bwari council chairman and present it to the APC candidate, Audi, as the duly elected chairman of Bwari area council.

The secretary of Bwari area council, Kedenya Peter, who reacted to the judgment, described it as “laughable”, adding that the judgment would be appealed.

Meanwhile, the tribunal has also ordered the INEC to conduct supplementary elections for the chairmanship in nine polling units across six political wards of Kuje area council.

The judge, while ruling on a petition filed by the APC chairmanship candidate, Hamidu Sarki Gaube, nullified the elections conducted across some of the affected polling units that favoured the incumbent chairman of the council, Abdullahi Suleiman Sabo, of the PDP.