Gov. Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State
The Supreme Court has put the final nail on the hopes of Zamfara All Progressives Congress of retrieving its mandates that the court freely gave to the Peoples Democratic Party last year.
The apex court, in a split judgment Friday dismissed the application by the Abdulaziz Yari faction of the party.
The Yari faction had asked for a review of the consequential order made by the court on 24 May 2019 in its judgment over the internal dispute in the party.
Justice Centus Nweze dissented in the 4-1 ruling, as he did in the case of Imo.
The majority ruling, supported by Chief Justice Ibrahim Muhammad Tanko, dismissed the application on the grounds that it lacked merit.
Justice Inyang Okoro, who read the judgment, held that the application for review was a gross abuse of the process of the court.
He awarded cost of N2million against the applicant.
Justice Nweze, in his dissenting judgment, held that the court ought to have set aside the consequential order which made candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) the beneficiaries of the internal crisis in Zamfara APC.
Nweze said since the Supreme Court had reviewed its decisions before, it should be bold enough to admit errors and make rectification.
He dismissed the objection raised by the respondents, upheld the application and granted the prayers sought by the APC.
The Supreme Court, in a dramatic and unprecedented ruling last year, awarded all the elective posts won by candidates of the APC to the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party.
The candidates of the PDP lost woefully in the elections
