On Thursday, the Supreme Court upheld Ahmed Aliyu’s election as the Governor of Sokoto State, rejecting the appeal of Saidu Umar from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Justice Tijani Abubakar delivered the judgment on behalf of the apex court panel led by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun.

Umar, along with the PDP, had contested the election results of Aliyu from the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the March 2023 poll. He sought to annul Aliyu’s election, citing electoral malpractices and non-compliance with the Electoral Act.

Umar requested the court to declare him the rightful winner or, alternatively, declare the election inconclusive and order a re-run in approximately 138 polling units.

Last year, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Aliyu of the APC as the winner of the March 18 governorship election. Aliyu secured 453,661 votes, defeating Umar, his closest rival, who received 404,632 votes.

Unsatisfied with the outcome, Umar approached the Sokoto Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal. In a unanimous decision on September 30, 2023, the Tribunal dismissed Umar’s petition, citing a failure to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt.

Undeterred, the PDP candidate appealed to the appellate court in Abuja but faced another loss. In November, the Court of Appeal in Abuja upheld Aliyu’s election as governor of Sokoto, unanimously confirming the tribunal’s verdict. Despite this, Umar proceeded to the apex court, which ultimately affirmed Aliyu as the APC candidate.