Niger LG poll: Chief Judge sets up tribunal to hear election matters

Barely 24 hours after the Niger State Independent Electoral Commission announced the results of the chairmanship and councillorship elections in the local government area poll in the state, the Chief Judge of the state Justice Fati Lami Abubakar, has constituted Tribunals to look into cases that may arise from it.
The election was held on Saturday.
The three-man local government election tribunal for Zone A is headed by Barrister Hamza Muazu, with Hassan Mohammed and Sani Kalas as members, while the tribunal for Zone B is to be chaired by Hajia Aisha Wodu Bawa, with Yabagi Bida and Musa Sakaba as members.
The tribunal established for Zone C is to be chaired by Alhaji Jibrin Zabbo, with Umar A. Mohammed Izom and Musa Sulaiman as members.
The appeal tribunal, according to a statement by the Chief Registrar of the High Court Division, Alhaji Mohammed Mamba Gwajas, is to be chaired by a Judge of the High Court, Justice Aisha Bwari, with Justices Musa Abdul and Abdullahi Mikaila as members.
It should be recalled that the results announced by the Chairman of the NSIEC, Alhaji Mohammed Danlami Abubakar, showed that the ruling party in the state, the All Progressives Congress, won the chairmanship seats for the 24 local government councils and overwhelming majority of the councillorship positions.
Abubakar, who said the election was conducted in a peaceful atmosphere in all the LGAs, advised those that contested the poll to accept the result in good faith with the belief that there is always another time to test their popularity.
The statement by the Chief Registrar of the High Court said members were chosen based on their “individual merits, wealth and vast experience in legal and election related tribunal matters”.
NSIEC late on Sunday announced the final results of the election for the 24 chairmanship and 263 councillorship positions contested in Saturdays local government polls in the state.
Election did not take place in Suleja Local Government Area of the state following a clash between supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party and the APC a few days to the election.
The Peoples Democratic Party, the other major political party that contested the election, has not reacted to the outcome of the election.
But during voting on Saturday, the Deputy Chairman of the party, Barrister Tanko Beji, said the poll was characterized by ballot box snatching and other electoral irregularities.