Tribunal declares Jonathan winner of 2011 election

Tribune

2 November 2011

Tribunal declares Jonathan winner of 2011 election

•Dismisses petition for lack of merit •Accept verdict in good faith, president tells Buhari •We’ll appeal, CPC vows •CJN issues practice directions on election appeals

Written by Tunde Oyesina, Leon Usigbe and Ayodele Adesanmi, Abuja

THE five-man Presidential Election Tribunal sitting as the Court of Appeal in Abuja on Tuesday unanimously upheld the victory of President Goodluck Jonathan and his deputy, Vice-President Namadi Sambo, in the April 16 presidential election.

Consequently, the panel, headed by Justice K.B Akaahs, dismissed the petition filed by the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), praying it to cancel the April 16 presidential election and order a fresh one between its candidate, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) and President Jonathan, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),  for lacking in merit and substance.

The tribunal held that going by the evidence before it, Jonathan and Sambo secured lawful votes cast in all the 36 states of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.