RUTH DAVID, Bauchi
The Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Bauchi State has nullified the election of member representing Sade constituency in the Bauchi State House of Assembly, Hon Baba Madugu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Chairman of the tribunal, Hon Justice Hajara Tani Dami Gwadah in her judgement, Monday, said the evidence presented before the tribunal showed that the first respondent Baba Madugu was not duly elected or returned by the majority of lawful votes cast at the last election for the Sade constituency.
Having calculated the number of votes cast, she said the petitioner Ibrahim Abdullahi Papa of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scored 9,233 votes against the first respondent’s 7,354, therefore the petitioner is the undisputed winner of the said election and is entitled to a certificate of return.
Justice Hajara Gwadah then explained that the first petitioner ought to have been returned as the duly elected member into the state assembly for Sade constituency, judging by the results obtained from the 3rd respondent’s forms EC8A and Forms EC8B respectively and ordered that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should withdraw the certificate issued to the first respondent and issue same to the petitioner who scored the majority polls cast.
