S/Court Reverses Sack Of Plateau Gov

By Garry Ochigbo, Edited By Grace Namiji

The Supreme Court has reversed the judgment of the Court of Appeal which in November last year removed Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State from office on the ground of unlawful nomination.

The apex court held that the Court of Appeal made a fundermental error in allowing the All Progressives Congress, APC to poke nose into the conduct of the primary election by the People’s Democratic Party PDP and nullified the election unjustly.

Justice Emmanuel Akomaye Agim who delivered the lead of the unanimous judgment said that the issue of primary election was an internal affair of political parties and that no other party can dabble into it except members of the same party.

Besides, Justice Agim said that the issue of alleged improper conduct of the ward and local government elections used to sack the Governor were not justiceable.

He said that conduct of the ward and local government elections was an affair of the State Executive Committee of a political party while the conduct of the primary election for the nomination of a governorship candidate is entirely that of the National Executive Committee of a political party.

Justice Agim held that there was no issue of irregularities in the way and manner the Governorship primary election that produced the governor was conducted in Plateau and wondered why that of the ward election was used to nullify the gubernatorial poll.

He said that evidence was even well adduced that an order of the Plateau State High Court allegedly disobeyed was indeed obeyed by parties involved.

Justice Agim therefore voided and set aside the order of the Court of Appeal that
Nentawe Goshwehe, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) be inaugurated as Plateau State Governor.

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Plateau State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal which had earlier dismissed the petition of the APC and its governorship candidate.