Nigeria’s Supreme Court has upheld the election victory of Peter Mbah as governor of Enugu State.

In a unanimous judgment on Friday, a five-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba dismissed the appeal filed by the Labour Party and its candidate, Chijioke Edeoga, challenging Mbah’s election.

The apex court ruled that the appellants failed to provide convincing evidence to support their allegations of substantial non-compliance with electoral regulations during the March 2023 governorship polls.

The Supreme Court also dismissed claims that Governor Mbah forged his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate used for the election. This was one of the main grounds on which the Labour Party candidate had sought Mbah’s disqualification.

Mbah contested the governorship election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and was declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after securing the most votes.

In November 2023, the Court of Appeal in Lagos had upheld the decision of the Election Petitions Tribunal affirming Mbah’s victory. The Tribunal had rejected the Labour Party’s petition alleging irregularities and nomination of an unqualified candidate by the PDP.

With the Supreme Court verdict, the legal battle over the Enugu State governorship election has been settled in favour of Governor Peter Mbah. The apex court ruled that the electoral process was credible and the PDP validly nominated Mbah as its candidate in line with the constitution and electoral law.