escaped a judicial hammer that appeared set to dislodge from office, as the Supreme Court, on Friday, affirmed his election that was earlier nullified by the lower courts.

A panel of Justices of the Supreme Court led by Inyang Okoro unanimously departed from the concurrent decisions of the two lower courts sacking Mr Yusuf to uphold his victory at the March 2023 election.

The case is about the most keenly fought governorship election dispute arising from the 2023 election cycle, as it stands out as the only one in which a winner’s victory was overturned by both the election petition tribunal and the Court of Appeal.

Delivering the lead decision on Friday, Mr Okoro set aside the conclusion of the Court of Appeal on the two prime issues on which the lower court’s decision sacking Governor Yusuf was anchored.

In a judicial upset, the Supreme Court restored Mr Yusuf’s votes that were cancelled by the lower court on the basis that the ballot papers were not signed.

It also affirmed that Mr Yusuf was validly nominated, contrary to the decision of the lower court that his candidacy was invalid on the grounds that he was not a bonafide member of his party, the NNPP.

Culled from Premium Times Nigeria