The election petition tribunal in Jos, Plateau State, has removed the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon Moses Sule, from his position. Hon Moses Sule, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was also accompanied by Danjuma Azi, the representative of Jos North West constituency in the assembly.
Instead, the tribunal declared Hon. Naanlong Daniel and Hon. Mark Na’ah, both of the All Progressive Congress (APC), as the winners of the March 18 election.
The petition against Sule and Azi challenged the PDP's sponsorship, arguing that the party lacked the necessary structure to participate in the election.
Delivering the judgment, the tribunal, led by Muhammad Tukur, ruled that the PDP was not qualified to sponsor the respondents due to a lack of party structure. It emphasized that "nothing can stand on nothing."
Additionally, the tribunal noted that the PDP had disregarded a previous court order from Justice S P Gang of Plateau State High Court, delivered on November 26, 2020, which had directed the party to conduct ward congresses. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) also failed to provide credible evidence of repeated congresses by the party in 2021, as claimed by the respondents. This ruling followed the tribunal's decision to oust two PDP lawmakers from the state assembly a day earlier.
