Simon Lalong, the Minister of Labour, has been officially confirmed as the winner of the Plateau South Senatorial seat by the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
Mr. Napoleon Bali, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the February 25 election, saw his appeal dismissed by the appellate court on Tuesday. Justice Elfrieda Williams-Dawodu and the three-member panel unanimously concluded that the appeal lacked merit.
The court, after thorough consideration, decided not to set aside the judgment of the Plateau State National Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal, which previously, on September 11, recognized Simon Lalong, the immediate past governor of the state, as the legitimate winner of the senatorial race.
The appellate court’s assessment of the evidence revealed that Mr. Bali, who had been declared the winner of the senatorial seat by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), did not meet the criteria as a bona fide candidate in the election.
It was determined by the court that the PDP, in disregard of an ongoing order from a Plateau State High Court, conducted an improper primary election that resulted in Mr. Bali’s selection as its candidate.
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According to the appellate court, the PDP was directed in 2022 to conduct a renewed congress in the state’s 17 Local Government Areas (LGAs), but it did not adhere to this directive.
According to the court’s findings, the PDP’s evidence showed that 12 Local Government Areas (LGAs) were excluded from the process during the party’s supposed congress to select its candidates for the 2023 general elections.
The appellate court panel’s decision was that the PDP’s violation of the court order rendered Mr. Bali’s candidacy in the election void.
It was made clear by the declaration that any vote attributed to the PDP candidate in the senatorial election was designated as void and wasted.
As a result, the court concluded that Simon Lalong, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who garnered the second-highest number of votes, was the rightful victor of the senatorial seat.
The panel, including Justices Muhammed Mustapha and Okon Abang, reached a consensus in favor of the primary judgment.