Supreme Court Affirms Victory Of Lawal As Zamafara Governor

Zamfara state Governor, Dauda Lawal

The election of Dauda Lawal as the governor of Zamfara State has been confirmed by the Supreme Court

The election of Dauda Lawal as the duly elected governor of Zamfara state has been upheld by the Supreme Court.

The Peoples Democratic Party's (PDP) Dauda Lawal has been recognized by the Supreme Court as the legitimately elected governor of Zamfara state.

The lead judge, Justice Emmanuel Agim, characterized the appeals court's decision as erroneous.

The ruling of the Court of Appeal, which deemed the Zamfara gubernatorial election to be inconclusive, was overturned by the five-member panel of the court.

In support of Lawal and his party's appeal, the court declared the appellate court's decision to be “perverse.”

With 377,726 votes, Lawal was proclaimed the victor of the Zamfara governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in March 2023.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Bello Matawalle, who received 311,976 votes, contested the poll's results.

Currently serving as the state minister of defense, Matawalle had previously charged that INEC had tampered with the results of some wards in order to undermine his election victory.

A N500,000 fine was imposed on the petitioners after the tribunal determined in September 2023 that the petition lacked merit.

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In November 2023, the Zamfara governorship election was ruled inconclusive by the Abuja-seated Court of Appeal.

The appellate court's three-member panel unanimously declared Lawal's victory to be void and mandated that INEC conduct new elections in three LGAS.

The three local governments are Birnin-Magaji, Bukyun, and Maradun.