Langtang North: Election Appeal Tribunal declares PDP candidate winner

Plateau State Election Appeal Tribunal, on Friday, declared Mr. Ubandoman Joshua-Laven of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the elected chairman of Langtang North Local Government in the October 10, 2018 poll.
Justice Arum Ashom, Chairman of the tribunal, made the declaration in a more than eight hours judgement on the appeal filed before it by Joshua-Laven and PDP.
The petitioners had challenged the declaration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Mr. Kparnim Nanloh-Amos, by Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission (PLASIEC) as winner of the poll.
The Jovita Binjin-led state Election Petition Tribunal had, in a six-hour judgement, on May 25, dismissed Joshua -Laven and PDP’s petition for lack of merit.
Dissatisfied with the lower court’s judgement, Joshua -Laven and his party, approached the Appeal Tribunal, and urged it to declare him winner having polled the highest votes in the election.
Delivering judgment on Friday, Justice Ashom upheld Joshua-Laven’s petition saying that “the lower tribunal goofed when it dismissed PDP and Ubandoma’s petition on May 25.’’
According to the appeal tribunal, several mistakes were made by the lower court in its decisions on some of the exhibits presented before it by all the parties involved.
The appeal tribunal faulted the lower tribunal for accepting a baseless result hurriedly presented by PLASIEC after the petitioners had closed their cases.
It described that result as worthless document compared with the authentic results compiled at the various polling units of the 17 wards of the area.
The tribunal gave the actual result for both APC and PDP as 14, 708 and 19, 599 votes respectively.
“With Ubandoma Joshua-Laven of PDP having scored 19, 599 as against 14, 708 votes of his APC counterpart, Mr. Kparnim Nanloh-Amos, the PDP candidate met the required votes according to the law and is hereby declared winner and returned elected.
“Consequently, PLASIEC is hereby ordered to issue the appellant, Mr Ubandoma Joshua-Laven of PDP, with certificate of return, as the duly elected chairman of Langtang North Local Government.
“This is the judgment of the election appeal tribunal, ’’ Ashom declared.
Speaking to journalists shortly after the judgement, Joshua-Laven’s counsel, Mr, Niri Darong, described the judgement as a victory for democracy and the people of Langtang North.
“This judgement delivered by the election appeal tribunal has gone to show that there is hope for Nigeria and Nigerians,’’ Darong said.