The Speaker of the Taraba State House of Assembly , Hon. Abel Peter Diah, has been sacked as the National and State Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Jalingo Wednesday set aside the election that brought him to office.
Ruling in the petition filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC ) candidate for Mbamga state constituency, Mr. Emmanuel Bongo, the three-man tribunal, headed by Justice A.M Ali, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ) to withdraw the certificate of return issued to the Speaker pending the conclusion of elections in eight polling units in the constituency.
Bongo had filed a petition before the tribunal challenging the victory of Diah on the grounds that elections in nine polling units of the constituency did not conform substantially with the provisions of the Electoral Act.
In the verdict of the tribunal read by Justice Ali, the tribunal held that elections in eight polling units out of the total 48 polling units did not conform substantially with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended and therefore ordered INEC to conduct fresh election in the eight polling units within 90 days.
It also held that the petitioner failed to proof his case with regard to the 9th polling unit in contention due to his failure to call oral witnesses as he did in regards to the other eight polling units that were cancelled.
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