Appeal Court Confirms Taraba Governor Kefas Agbu’s Election, Dismisses APC’s Challenge 

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has affirmed the election of Agbu Kefas of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the duly elected governor of Taraba State, upholding the judgment of the Taraba State Governorship Election Tribunal. 

This ruling comes after the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) and its candidate, Yahaya Sani, contested Kefas’ victory in the March 18 governorship election, initially declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Kefas emerged victorious in the election, securing 257,926 votes, a triumph over the NNPP and other contenders. However, the NNPP, challenging the outcome, alleged non-compliance with the Electoral Act of 2022 and claimed that their candidate, Sani, had the majority of lawful votes. 

The NNPP sought the Tribunal’s intervention to nullify Kefas’ election, invalidate his certificate of return, and issue a new certificate to Sani. Alternatively, they requested a repeat election in affected polling units across 16 Local Government Areas (LGAs).

The NNPP presented a substantial case at the tribunal, bringing forward 127 witnesses, predominantly polling unit agents. 

Despite these efforts, the three-man panel of justices at the tribunal dismissed the petition for lacking merit. Following this, the NNPP appealed to the higher court, seeking redress.

In a counter-move, Kefas’ legal representative, Kanu Agabi SAN, submitted a cross-appeal at the appellate court. Agabi argued that the Tribunal should have declared the NNPP’s reliefs as inconsistent. 

The appeal court, examining this cross-appeal, concurred with Agabi’s argument, stating that the NNPP’s simultaneous request for nullification of the election due to non-compliance and their demand to be declared the winner of the same election was contradictory.

Furthermore, the appeal court struck out the alternative reliefs sought by the NNPP as requested by Governor Kefas. The judges noted that the party’s failure to file a complete record of appeal from the Tribunal was a crucial oversight. Consequently, the appellate court dismissed the NNPP’s application, upholding the Tribunal’s view that the NNPP’s witnesses’ evidence was largely hearsay.