S’Court affirms Ishaku’s victory in Taraba guber polls

Appeal Court upturns Nyako’s impeachment

WITH the ruling of the Supreme Court yesterday, Darius Dickson Ishaku of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) retained his position as the governor of Taraba State. The apex court also dismissed the petition filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its governorship candidate, Aisha J. Alhassan.

In the lead judgment pronounced by Bode Rhodes Vivour and unanimously adopted by six other judges, it was upheld that the appeal lacked merit and consequently could not stand. The judges have also slated February 22 to give reasons for their ruling.

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike and his Delta State counterpart, Ifeanyi Okowa have congratulated Ishaku on the affirmation of his election by the Supreme Court, saying the rule of law has come to stay in the democratic process of the country.

Besides, the Court of Appeal sitting in Yola yesterday reversed the impeachment of Murtala Nyako as governor of Adamawa State on July 15, 2014, after 17 of the 25 members of the State House of Assembly adopted a report of a panel set up to investigate him for alleged corruption. The report found the governor guilty of all the 16 allegations of gross misconduct.

But in its ruling yesterday, the Court of Appeal ruled that Nyako’s impeachment was not done in accordance with the provision of the law.

In the lead judgment read by Justice Tunde Ayotoye, all the judges unanimously agreed that Nyako was not given fair hearing in the impeachment proceedings and ordered that Nyako be accorded all rights of the office of the governor of Adamawa State and be paid all his entitlements The court, however, struck out Nyako’s appeal to be returned as governor of the state as the judges ruled that his tenure as governor had elapsed.