Supreme Court reserves judgement on Plateau governorship appeal

The Supreme Court in Abuja has reserved judgement in the appeal filed by Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, who seeks to overturn the Court of Appeal’s nullification of his election.

A five-member panel led by Justice John Okoro heard arguments from both sides before reserving judgement on Tuesday.

Mutfwang’s lawyer, Kanu Agabi, urged the court to uphold the lower tribunal’s judgement and overturn the Court of Appeal’s decision on removing him as Plateau governor He argued that the respondents, Nentawe Goshwe and the All Progressives Congress (APC), lack the right to challenge the PDP’s internal election process for selecting its state executives.

Agabi further argued that the respondents cannot simultaneously claim that Mutfwang did not receive the required number of valid votes and that the entire election was invalid.

The APC and its candidate countered that Mutfwang’s PDP disobeyed a valid court order requiring them to conduct party congresses in 17 local governments. They argued that the PDP only held congresses in five local governments before the March governorship election, rendering the entire process invalid.

The Supreme Court’s decision on the appeal will determine whether Mutfwang remains in office or not. The court’s judgement will be delivered on another date that will be communicated soon.