Governor Samuel Ortom
The Court of Appeal sitting in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, on Wednesday dismissed the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Prince Terhemen Tarzoor, challenging the decision of the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which declared Governor, Samuel Ortom of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the duly elected governor of the state.
Tarzoor had filled a 14-ground appeal, complaining that the lower tribunal erred in its judgment in holding that Ortom was duly elected despite not going through a primary of his party
They five-member panel of the Court of Appeal read by Justice Mohammed Garba dismissed Tarzoor’s appeal and upheld the judgment of the tribunal delivered on September 29, 2015.
Garba said the appeal failed because the evidence adduced by Ortom and second respondent appellant, APC, outweighs that of the appellant Tarzoor.
“The burden rest on the petitioner who approaches a court to proof his petition. On the evaluation and examination of evidence, the tribunal did the proper and right thing. The appeal fails on all the grounds and is thereby dismissed. We uphold that the judgment of the tribunal delivered on September 29, 2015,”Justice Garba maintained.
Reacting to the judgment, counsel to Tarzoor, T T Hyundu, said they would study it and decide on the next step to take.
Ortom, reacting to the judgement, expressed gratitude to God who he said told him in 2012 that he was going to be the governor of the state if he worked uprightly.
He called on members of the PDP to join forces with him to develop the state instead of fighting him, stressing that the confirmation of his election by the courts underscores the need for unity.
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