Tribunal upholds elections of former Niger gov, Sani Bello, Ndalikali as senators

The election of former governor Abubakar Sani Bello as a member representing Niger North Senatorial District has been affirmed by the National Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal, which is chaired by Justice Angela Otaluka and is located in Minna, the capital of Niger State.

Otaluka granted Shehu Mohammed Abdullahi, the respondent, N250,000 as cost.

It was declared that Bello, who ran for the seat on the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket on February 25, 2023, had defeated Abdullahi of the Peoples Democratic Party.

However, Abdullahi filed a petition with the electoral petition tribunal, claiming that there were irregularities in the election and additional ballots were cast.

Through his attorney, Barr. Hussaini Garba requested that the tribunal declare him the winner and declare the election of the former governor to be invalid.

Otaluka declared in her judgement that the petitioner had entirely failed to establish the allegations of overvoting and that the case should thus be dismissed.

The panel also upheld Senator Peter Jiya Ndalikali of the PDP, Niger South Senatorial District, in his election.

Ndalikali’s election was contested by APC senator Mohammed Bima, who claimed that Ndalikali was lawfully elected because he received the most votes out of all candidates in the Niger South Senatorial District.

Bima’s plea was denied by Otaluka, who added, “Your petition in total lacks merit and is hereby dismissed,” while stating that the claims Bima made could not be supported.