Tribunal rejects PDP, NNPP appeals, considers Taraba APC’s Useni legitimate winner of NASS election

In Jalingo, Taraba State’s capital, the governorship and national assembly election petition tribunal has upheld Mark Useni’s election to represent the Takum/Donga/Ussa Federal Constituency.

The candidates for the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rimam Shawulu, and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Barrister Istifanus Haruna Gbana, took Useni, the former speaker of the state Assembly, before the electoral tribunal convening in the state.

The pair had petitioned the tribunal to void the election and mandate a new one in the constituency.

Along with asking the tribunal to prevent Useni of the All Progressives Congress from serving the seat as a lawmaker, they also stated that he did not receive the required number of votes to be proclaimed the election’s victor.

The two petitions were dismissed by Tribunal Chairman Justice Benson Ogbu on the grounds that “the petitions collapsed on failure of proof by the petitioners.”

According to what he said during the cross-examination, Useni’s attorneys were able to show the tribunal that the APC candidate received legitimate votes and that “his election remains valid in the eyes of the law.”

Useni called the court the common man’s hope in response to the verdict, and he urged the two to work together to propel the constituency to new heights.