Governor Nasir El-Rufai will have to know on 7 November whether he will continue to preside over Kaduna state as the Court of Appeal has fixed judgment for the day, over the appeal filed by Alhaji Isah Ashiru, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate.
The March 9 Governorship election was won by El-Rufai. Ashiru, however petitioned the Election Tribunal.The Justice Ibrahim Bako-led Tribunal dismissed the petition for lacking in merit.
Ashiru and his party, PDP, further approached the Appeal Court.
At the lower tribunal, Ashiru and his party presented 135 witnesses with various documents to buttress their allegations of malpractices, including ballot box stuffing, snatching of election materials and interruption of the process by thugs.
Both the appellant and three respondents adopted their respective briefs when the case came up for hearing before the five-member panel of the Court of Appeal led by Justice U.I Anywu on Monday, Nov. 4 in Kaduna.
The counsel to the three respondents, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Dr. Nasiru Aliyu; that of Gov. Nasiru El-Rufai, Abdulhakeem Mustapha (SAN) and that of the APC, Ibrahim K. Bawa, (SAN) all asked the Appeal court to dismiss Ashiru’s appeal for lacking merit.
The respondents asked the Appeal court to uphold El-Rufa’s victory, as declared by the Tribunal.
However, Counsel to Ashiru and the PDP, Wole Olanipekun (SAN) after adoption of his briefs, declined further comment on the case until judgment was delivered on Thursday.
Justices H.A.O. Abiru, T.Y. Hassan, B.M. Ugo and B.B. Aliyu are members in the Justice Anyanwu-led appeal panel
