The Adamawa Election Petitions Tribunal began sitting in Yola on Monday with a total of 19 petitions to deliberate on.
The chairman of the three-member tribunal, Justice Suleiman Akanmbi, pledged at the inaugural sitting held at the High Court complex in Jimeta, that the tribunal would pursue expeditious deliberations and appealed to counsels to avoid ‘undue technicalities’ that could delay the process.
“We solicit the cooperation of the members of the Bar, the media and the general public to join in ensuring fair and expeditious trial and conclusion of the great task ahead,” the tribunal chairman said.
The 19 petitions which the tribunal has received so far, according to the Tribunal Secretary, Godwin Ezenwa, comprise two senatorial, seven House of Representatives, and 10 House of Assembly petitions.
The two petitions challenging the outcome of the senatorial election were filed from Adamawa North and Adamawa South senatorial zones.
Incumbent Senator Binta Garba (Adamawa North) who is of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is challenging the election of Ishaku Cliff of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Ishaku winner of the Adamawa North senatorial election after he polled 79,337 votes against Binta’s 63,219 votes.
The petitioner from Adamawa South Senatorial Zone, Mo’allayidi Ahmed, is also an incumbent senator who similarly lost to a fresher and PDP contender, Binos Dauda who polled 144,403 against Ahmed’s 118,209 votes.
