The Supreme Court has affirmed Colonel Kefas Agbu (Rtd) as the valid governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Taraba State.
The Justice Emmanuel Agim-led panel upheld the previous decision of the Appellate Court in Yola, Adamawa state which dismissed two different suits from opposing candidates from the party, challenging Agbu’s eligibility to contest the governorship primary election of the PDP in Taraba state.
The twin appeals dismissed by the apex court were those by two contenders for the governorship ticket, Hilkiah Buba-Joda and Jerome Nyameh.
Tribune reported that the court, in the judgment, held that the appellants acted in breach of Sections 84 and 87(9) of the Electoral Act by failing to make use of the primary election dispute mechanism as contained in the party’s guidelines. Therefore, both appeals were deemed premature and lacking in merit.
The apex Court also maintained that the failure of the appellants to include other gubernatorial aspirants who took part in the primary election at the early stages of the trial robbed them of right to a fair hearing.