BY WOLE MOSADOMI

Minna-The National and State Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal sitting in Minna has upheld the elections of both Senator Dahiru Awaisu Kuta and Atiku Shamaki of the House of Representatives, saying that they were duly elected.

The election of Senator Kuta, PDP, representing Niger East Senatorial District was being challenged by Mr Inuwa Zakari of ACN, while Shamaki’s victory was challeged by Hajia Zainab Nasko, PDP, who lost to the CPC candidate.

Chairman of the Tribunal, Justice Kingsley Udeh in his judgment declared that there was no clear evidence to ascertain that the National Assembly election which Senator Kuta won was characterized with rigging as alleged by Zakari.

Udeh also said the totality of the evidence tendered by the petitioner were not tied to the exhibit in the case saying, “the counsel has therefore failed to substantiate the allegation and therefore, the petition lacks merit and hereby dismissed.”

According to Justice Udeh, the counsel to the petitioner, Akingbade failed to produce enough evidence to support the allegation of over voting and electoral malpractices.

He also stated that other alleged matters of corruption, clearance of voters, thuggery, forgery and violence in all polling units as claimed by the petitioners during the elections could not be established and then awarded N50,000 as cost to the respondent.

On Shamaki’s election, the tribunal also declared that Hajia Nasko failed to produce evidence to support her claims that the respondent had no educational qualification to contest any election in the state and asked her to pay N50,000 as costs to the respondent.