Time is Nigh for Sani to Face Real Governance in Kaduna

With the Supreme Court last week affirming the election of Senator Uba Sani as governor of Kaduna state, it’s now time for him to focus on real governance, writes John Shiklam.

With his affirmation by the Supreme Court as  duly elected governor of Kaduna state, the time has come for Governor UbaSani to settle down for real business.

For the past seven months, governance has been at a low ebb as a result of the distraction by the legal tussle over the out come of the March 18, 2023 governorship election.

With the final pronouncements by the Supreme Court, Kaduna citizens cannot wait to see their governor swing into action to fulfill his promises to them.

In Nigeria, one of the challenges elected officials face is the distraction by prolonged election litigations and uncertainty about its outcome.

The governor himself has been up and doing despite the distractions, but now that he has emerged victorious, more attention will be given to governance.

Sanihimself, harped on the need to take Kaduna state to higher level while reacting to his victory.

“The final seal by the Supreme Court, it is time to join hands and take Kaduna state to a higher level”. The governor in a statement shortly after commended the apex court for the “sound judgment.”

He promised to run a people-centered, inclusive and pro-development administration, adding that his door is opened to all stakeholders in the state.

Sani also thanked his opponent Isa Ashiru for embracing the legal process and ventilating his grievances. He assured that any citizen of the state who has something to contribute will be given an opportunity.

“The Supreme Court in a unanimous decision today put a final seal on the mandate freely given to me by the good people of Kaduna state. With the legal disputations over, it is time for us to join hands to take Kaduna state to a higher level,” he said in a statement.

He promised to run a people-centered, inclusive and pro-development administration adding that his door is opened to all stakeholders in the Kaduna Project.

“Any citizen of Kaduna State who has something to contribute will be given an opportunity. It is about the glory of Kaduna State, not personal glory”, the governor said.

According to him, the judgment of the apex court was a confirmation “we were given a mandate to better the lots of our people… “

“With abiding faith in the Almighty God, we shall deliver on the Sustain Agenda and make Kaduna State a model of development in Nigeria”, the governor said.

On its part, the opposition PDP,  lamented that it did not get justice because the matter was decided strictly on technicalities rather than the substance of the case.

State Chairman of the PDP, Hassan Hyet, in a statement said, the party is consoled with the fact that it won the three senatorial seats in the state, seven House of Representatives seats and 12  seats in the state House of Assembly.

Hyet thanked supporters of the PDP and appealed to them to accept the outcome of the judgment as the will of God.

“Although, we did not get justice at the court owing to the fact that the matter was decided strictly on technicalities and not the substance of the case, we appeal to our teeming supporters to remain calm and accept this outcome as the will of God for us all”, he said.

Hyet said the PDP will continue to work with the people and  hold the government accountable in the allocation of resources and projects.

“Having won the presidential election in the state, all three senators from the state, seven members of the House of Representatives, and two others facing a rerun, 12 members of the House of Assembly and two others also facing a rerun, the people of Kaduna State have clearly shown that the PDP remains their party of choice.

“We want to assure everyone of our party’s resolve  to continue working with the people in holding the government of the state accountable and ensuring equity, justice, and fairness in the allocation of government resources and projects”, the state PDP chairman said.

The election dispute started at the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal where Isa Ashiru, candidate of the PDP, challenged the election of Sani on the grounds that he did not win majority votes.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Sani as the winner of the March 18, 2023, governorship election in the state, having polled 730,001 votes against Ashiru’s 719,196 votes.

Isa and his party, told the tribunal that the governor was not duly elected by a majority of valid votes cast, and that the election was invalid as it was characterised by corrupt practices and noncompliance with provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.

The petitioners also told the tribunal  that some polling unit results were allegedly wrongfully cancelled, maintaining that there were inconsistencies in accreditation records from INEC.

However, delivering its judgment on September 28, 2023, the tribunal, in a two-to-one split judgement dismissed the petition  and upheld Sani’s election victory.

The tribunal headed by Justice Victor Oviawie, in its majority judgment, said the PDP and its candidate did not file their pre-hearing application within the time stipulated by law, and therefore, the petition was deemed abandoned.

The tribunal however, held that if it were to determine the case on its merit, it would have ordered INEC to conduct a supplementary election in 22 polling units in the state within 90 days.

The tribunal also noted the petitioners complaint concerning the margin of victory between Sani and Isa, stressing that the difference between the votes that were credited to the APC and PDP candidates was 10,806 votes, while the total number of votes in areas where results of the election were cancelled were 16,423 votes.

The tribunal noted that the results of supplementary election in the affected polling units was capable of substantially affecting the overall outcome of the governorship election.

Dissatisfied with the judgment of the tribunal,  Ashiru and his party headed to the appeal court in Abuja, seeking to void the judgment of the tribunal.

However, the appeal was unsuccessful as the court upheld Sani’s election in its

judgement delivered on November 24, 2023.

The court of appeal, in a unanimous decision by a three-member panel of justices, dismissed the matter.

The judgement delivered by Justice Obietonbara Daniel-Kalio, said the tribunal’s  majority decision was right when it declared the petition by the PDP and its candidate as abandoned.

The court, held that records before it showed  that the petitioners acted in breach of Paragraph 18(1) of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act 2022 when they prematurely applied to the tribunal for the issuance of a pre-hearing notice.

The appellate court also held that the statements of most of the witnesses who testified for the appellants were invalid as they were not filed alongside the petition.

The court maintained that most of the witnesses who testified for the petitioners gave hearsay evidence.

The appellate court also in a judgment in the cross- appeal filed by Sani, quashed the minority decision of the tribunal, which ordered INEC to conduct a fresh poll in 22 polling units within four Local Government Areas in the state.

The apex court maintained that the dissenting verdict was based on unreliable documents and hearsay and therefore, the election cannot be declared inconclusive.

Again, not satisfied with the judgment of the appellate court, Ashiru and the PDP, approached the Supreme Court.

A five-member panel of the supreme court, headed by Justice TijjaniAbubakar, in a

unanimous decision, on January 19, 2024, held that the appeal lacked merit.

The apex court held that since the petition was incompetent and upheld the judgment of the court of appeal.

The judge declared that “the appeal is frivolous, vexatious, and irritating. It therefore deserves to be dismissed, and it is hereby dismissed”.

With this final pronouncement by the apex court, all eyes are now on Sani to provide

good governance and development the state. The governor seems to be equal to the task, given the steps he has taken so far in the since he was sworn in on May 29, 2023.

His statements and body language gives the impression that he is somebody determined to transform Kaduna state. The people of the state can’t wait to see him address the challenges facing them.