Appeal Court Orders Rerun After Sacking Zamfara State Governor

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has voided the election of Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State

The election of Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal has been declared illegal by the Court of Appeal located in Abuja.

The winner of the March 18 governorship election was declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to be Lawal.

However, Lawal's victory was contested by the All Progressives Congress (APC), which ran on a Peoples Democratic Party platform (PDP).

Lawal's election was validated by the tribunal, but the APC went to the Appeal Court.

A three-judge panel declared on Thursday that Lawal's win was void and that three local government districts have to hold new elections.

Three of the 14 council areas in the North-Western region—Maradun, Birnin-Magaji, and Bukkuyum—are impacted.

Judge Sybil Nwaka, who read the main ruling, directed INEC to hold new elections in three local government districts of the state where none had been held before or where the results of different polling places had not been tallied.

The judiciary determined that INEC erred in compiling the governorship election final results using data from its INEC Result Viewing (IReV) platform.

However, Dauda Lawal said in his press statement, he was elected due to dissatisfaction with the status quo in the state.

The statement read in part, "The outcome of the governorship election on March 18 accurately represented the people's yearning for a shift towards positive development and progress.

"The ruling by the Appeal Court on Thursday is a temporary setback.

"However, I remain optimistic that the collective decision of the people will ultimately prevail.

"We will emerge victorious as our unwavering determination and steadfast commitment leave no room for doubt or fear.

"We faced numerous challenges on the road to victory in the last election. But let me assure our people that we are fully committed to going to great lengths to retain this widely acclaimed mandate."

According to Vanguard, Zamfara State Governor, Governor Dauda Lawal has described the Court of Appeal's verdict as a temporary setback.