The Court of Appeal in Abuja has invalidated the participation of the Peoples Democratic Party and its senatorial candidate, Napoleon Bali, in the February 25 National Assembly Election for Plateau South Senatorial District.
In a judgment delivered on Tuesday by a three-member panel led by Justice Elfreda Williams-Dawodu, the court held that the PDP’s participation in the election was unlawful because the party failed to comply with a lawful court order.
The court noted that the Plateau High Court had in 2022 ordered the PDP to conduct legitimate elections for the selection of officers for Wards, Local Governments, and the State Chapter, but the party failed to comply with the order.
The Court of Appeal held that the PDP’s disobedience and disregard for the court order was substantial, and that the party was therefore ineligible to participate in the February 25 election.
Consequently, the court declared that the votes cast for the PDP in the election were unlawful and nullified.
The court also declared the former Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, who ran for the election as an All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate and had originally come second in the February Senatorial election, as the Senator for the Plateau South Senatorial District.
Lalong currently holds the position of Minister of Labour in President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
