THE election of Lawal Usman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the senator representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District in the 10th National Assembly has been affirmed by the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Kaduna State.
Muhammad Abdullahi, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, had petitioned against Usman’s victory on four grounds.
He insisted that Usman was not officially sponsored by the PDP to run for office and that his party had not nominated him in compliance with the Electoral Act.
The APC candidate also disputed Usman’s educational credentials and asserted that there was excessive voting during the poll.
However, the petition was rejected by the three-person panel under the direction of Justice H.H. Kereng because it lacked merit.
According to Justice Kereng, who read the verdict, the petitioners failed to demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that the PDP candidate’s National Examination Council (NECO) results and other academic credentials he offered to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were fabricated.
The Tribunal went on to say that the petitioners were unable to demonstrate that the first respondent was not duly elected by the majority of voters who participated in the election on February 25.
As a result, the Tribunal dismissed the petition and upheld Usman’s election as the duly elected senator for Kaduna Central Senatorial District.
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