Supreme Court Validates Dauda Lawal's Zamfara Governorship Win
The Supreme Court has upheld the electoral victory of Dauda Lawal from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the Governor of Zamfara State. This decision overturns the previous ruling by the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which had deemed the governorship election on March 18, 2023, inconclusive, necessitating a re-run in three local government areas within the state.
In November, the Court of Appeal had nullified Lawal's initial election, where he had emerged as the victor, displacing the incumbent Bello Matawalle of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Lawal secured a total of 377,726 votes, surpassing Matawalle's 311,976 votes.
Previously, Matawalle, who is currently serving as the Minister of State for Defence, had accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of undermining his electoral triumph by allegedly omitting certain local government areas' results.
The Zamfara Election Petitions Tribunal had, on September 18, dismissed Matawalle's petition, deeming it lacking in merit, and affirmed Lawal's victory while imposing a fine of N500,000 against Matawalle and the APC.
Unsatisfied with this outcome, Matawalle pursued the case to the Court of Appeal in Abuja, where a three-member panel, led by Justice Oyebisi Folayemi, invalidated INEC's declaration of Lawal as the governorship winner. Justice Sybil Nwaka, during this ruling, directed INEC to organize a fresh election in three local government areas where elections were pending or where results from various polling units had not been counted.
In response to this, Lawal sought redress at the Supreme Court, culminating in the recent affirmation of his victory.