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The National and State Houses of Assembly Election Tribunal in Niger State has sacked the son of Professor Jerry Gana, Rep Joshua, from the House of Representatives.
It was reported that the three-member tribunal led by Justice Sylvester Godspower ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a supplementary election in 26 polling units in the Edati/Lavun/Mokwa Federal Constituency of Niger State within 90 days of the judgment.
The tribunal’s decision was based on a petition filed by the All Progressive Congress (APC) and its candidate, Mr Abdullahi Usman Gbatamagi, who challenged the return of Gana.
The APC argued that the election was invalid by reason of non-compliance with the Electoral Act, 2022, in that the margin of win was less than the permanent voter cards (PVCs) collected in the polling units where elections did not hold or were cancelled.
The tribunal agreed with the APC’s arguments and invalidated votes in the 26 polling units, thereby reducing the votes of Gana to 46,494 votes while that of Gbatamagi now stood at 39,159 votes.
The tribunal consequently set aside the Certificate of Return issued to Joshua Gana by INEC and ordered the commission to conduct a supplementary election in the 26 polling units within 90 days of the judgment to determine the winner of the election.
