The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue State and her candidate in the 2023 Governorship Election, Engr. Titus Tyoapine Uba, Wednesday filed an appeal against the judgment of the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal in the state, which upheld the election of Governor Hyacinth Alia.
The Tribunal, headed by Justice Ibrahim Mohammed Karaye, on 24th September, 2023, dismissed the petition by PDP and Engr. Uba which challenged the return of Governor Hyacinth Alia as the Winner of the Governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Justice Karaye, who delivered the lead judgment, said that the issues raised by the petitioners were pre-election and ought to have been entertained by the Federal High Court and not the Tribunal.
PDP through its team of lawyers therefore filed an appeal before the Court of Appeal challenging the judgment on sixteen grounds notably amongst which are that the Tribunal’s erred in law on the issue of its jurisdiction to entertain both petitions.
A statement issued by the Publicity Secretary Bemgba Iortyom in respect to the appeal said the PDP and her candidate fault the decision of the Tribunal which held, to the effect, that the ground of the petition was that of pre-election, despite clear and unambiguous statutory provisions and pronouncements of higher courts of record on the matter to the contrary.
