A State High Court sitting in Yola, Tuesday vacated it’s earlier order restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from conducting the governorship supplementary election in Adamawa.
The court presided over by Justice Abdul’Aziz Waziri has also ruled that it has the jurisdiction to adjudicate on the case filed before it by the political party Movement for the Restoration and Defence of Democracy (MRDD) against INEC.
Subsequently, the court has fixed Wednesday March 27, 2019 to hear the originating motion by MRDD asking the court to nullify the Adamawa governorship election conducted on March 9, 2019, alleging that INEC has removed the logo of the party during the election.
The court had earlier asked the electoral empire to stop the scheduled supplementary elections slated for last Saturday.
The ruling of the Adamawa State High Court came two weeks after INEC declared the governorship election in the state as inconclusive.
The Returning Officer for the election, Professor Andrew Haruna, had made the declaration while announcing the results on March 11 at the collation centre in the state capital.
He explained that the margin of the lead of 32,476 between the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) was less than the 40,988 votes that were cancelled.
INEC had, thereafter, announced that it would conduct supplementary elections in 17 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on March 23.
Although that of the state constituency held in Mayo Belwa and Hong Local Government Areas of Adamawa, that of the governorship failed to hold in 44 polling units as a result of the previous court order.
