The Benue State Election Petition Tribunal is about to make a big decision! On Saturday, they will announce their judgement on the petitions related to the March governorship election in the state. All the parties involved in the case have been informed about the time and date of the judgement.
Let’s go back to the election day. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, the candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), as the winner of the election. But the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Titus Uba, and the PDP itself were not happy with the results. They believed that Alia and his Deputy, Samuel Ode, should not have been declared winners because of alleged forgery and being nominated out of time.
During the final address at the tribunal, the PDP and its candidate, Uba, asked the tribunal to nullify the victory of Alia and the APC. On the other side, the counsels representing INEC, Governor Alia, Deputy Ode, and the APC, all highly experienced lawyers, argued that the petition should be dismissed because it lacked merit. After hearing all the arguments, the three-member panel led by Justice Ibrahim Karaye decided to adjourn the case and announce their judgement later.
Since the tribunal reserved judgement, there has been a lot of tension in the state. People are eagerly waiting to find out what the decision will be. Will the election results be upheld, or will there be a new outcome? We will have to wait until Saturday to know for sure!
