The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, on Sunday, nullified the election of the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Simon Mwadkwon, in the February 25 senatorial election in the Plateau North Senatorial District.
A three-man appeal panel of the Court ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a fresh election in the senatorial district within 90days.
The appellate court in in its judgement following the appeal filed by Mr Chris Giwa of the All Progressives Congress and Mr Gyang Zi of the Labour Party, voided the election of Mwadkwon.
Giwa of the APC and Zi of LP had appealed against the judgment of the Elections Petitions Tribunal that sat in Jos, Plateau State which affirmed Mwadkwon of the PDP as the winner of the senatorial poll.
The appellants contended that Mwadkwon was not qualified to stand for an election as his party, the PDP, which nominated him during the election had no structure to do so, having not complied with an earlier High Court order for the party to conduct a proper state congress.
Justice E. Daudu, who read the lead judgment of the Court of Appeal, held that the order of the High Court was not fully complied with by the PDP as 12 LGAs didn’t participate in the said congress.
Justice Daudu in the judgement said; “The court made total findings with regard to the issue in focus. To avoid anarchy, I agree with the appellants that the court must protect an order of another court.
“I agree with the appellant that the third respondent had no valid structure and could not have claimed to have validly nominated the second respondent (Mwadkwon) for the election.
“Given the findings of this court, the appeal, therefore, succeeds as the court order was not complied with. The first respondent is hereby ordered to conduct another senatorial election in Plateau North within 90 days,” the court ordered.