The second Panel of the Sokoto State National and State House of Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal is set to begin its inaugural session today. The tribunal will convene at Court 6 within the High Court complex in Sokoto. The tribunal’s secretary, Sunday Martins, has issued a notice announcing the inaugural sitting.
Expected dignitaries to grace the event are the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, INEC’s Resident Electoral Commissioner, the Director of the Department of State Services, the Commissioner of Police, and finally, the state leaders of Nigeria’s two major political parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The tribunal has received a total of 17 petitions regarding the state’s governorship and House of Assembly primaries, with the majority coming from aggrieved contestants from both the APC and PDP primaries. The APC filed petitions for ten House of Assembly seats, while the PDP submitted seven petitions, including one for the gubernatorial primaries.
The APC’s contested House of Assembly seats include Shagari, Sokoto North, Tureta, Bodinga North, Tambuwal East, Gada, Silame, Goronyo, Isa, and Tambuwal West constituencies. As for the PDP, they are challenging the results of the governorship and House of Assembly seats in Sokoto South II, Sabon Birni North, Sabon Birni South, Binji, Kebbe, and Kware constituencies.
The tribunal’s commencement has raised expectations within the state, with many looking forward to its investigations. The tribunal is expected to deliver unbiased verdicts that will ensure electoral justice for all contestants and political parties alike.
