The Independent National Electoral Commission had declared Napoleon Bali of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP winner of the election with one hundred and forty eight thousand, eight hundred and forty four votes, while Lalong scored ninety one thousand, six hundred and seventy four votes to come second in the February 25 elections.
Lalong, however, asked the tribunal to nullify Bali’s election on the grounds that the PDP did not have a proper party structure and, therefore, could not file candidates for the elections.
The tribunal, in a unanimous judgment read by Justice Muhammad Tukur, said the PDP, having no structure, lacked the right to have taken part in the election.
The tribunal held that the votes scored by Bali in the February 25, 2023, general elections were wasted votes.
Bali approached the appeal court, asking the court to set aside the judgment.
The three-man panel of the Appeal Court led by Justice Elfrieda Williams-Dawodu, held that the matter was both a pre and post-election matter, adding that the tribunal was correct to have looked at the issue and said the PDP should have obeyed subsisting orders asking that a new congress should be conducted in the state.
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