By Chibuike Nwabuko
Abuja (Dundisha Post) – Former Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Hon Abdulmumin Jibrin, whose election was nullified on Friday by the Court of Appeal, has rejected the judgement, saying it negates principles of justice and precedents set by the courts.
Jibrin, however, said he was prepared to face a rerun of the election as ordered by the court, asking his supporters to remain calm, as he has unflinching faith in the will of Allah.
Recall that the Appeal Court on Friday nullified the decision of the lower court upholding his election on the ground that the result sheets were mutilated and ordered a fresh election across the constituency.
But the APC lawmaker said the court was wrong in nullifying the entire election, as only 13 wards were in contention across the constituency, which cover about two local governments, adding that only one witness testified for the petitioners during the hearing of the petition about the 13 wards.
“In the petition, the court was specifically asked to nullify the results of the 23rd February, 2019 election in 13 polling units. Of the 13 polling units challenged, only one witness, who was not listed on the petitioners’ list of witnesses, and who deposed to being both a member of the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party member at the same time, gave evidence in respect of all the said 13 polling units.
“The witness neither personally saw nor did he directly encounter events in the polling units he purported to give evidence about. We pointed this out in our representations to the judges and the tribunal agreed with us that the petition was without merit.
“The petitioners appealed to the Court of Appeal, and by a decision delivered earlier today, the petitioners’ appeal was allowed. Strangely, even though the petitioners’ sole relief as it related to a rerun election before the tribunal and Court of Appeal was for a nullification of the afore-said 13 polling units, the Court of Appeal, on its own volition, nullified the entire election of 23rd February, 2019.
“I profoundly disagree with the decision of the Court of Appeal, but as a thorough-bred democrat, I have received the court’s decision in good faith and forced to accept it, even though it runs contrary to other precedents of the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.”
Culled from The Nation
