Abuja – In a decisive ruling on Friday, the Supreme Court upheld Governor Francis Nwifuru’s election victory in Ebonyi State. Justice Tijjani Abubakar, delivering the lead judgement, dismissed appeals from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) challenging Nwifuru’s win.
The court declared the appeals “patently unmeritorious,” affirming the concurrent verdicts of the Ebonyi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal. Both tribunals had previously upheld Nwifuru’s election victory.
Nwifuru, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), secured a total of 199,131 votes across the 13 Local Government Areas, defeating his closest rival, Dr. Odii of the PDP, who scored 80,191 votes.
The petitions lodged by PDP’s Chief Ifeanyi Odii and APGA’s Prof. Benard Odoh alleged certificate forgery, corrupt practices, and non-compliance with the Electoral Act. They also argued that Nwifuru did not validly resign from the PDP before his APC nomination, rendering him ineligible.
However, the tribunal and the Court of Appeal dismissed the petitions for lacking merit. The Supreme Court’s decision on Friday affirmed Nwifuru’s election and concluded the legal challenges against it.
