Tribunal rules election of 26-year-old Kwara woman inconclusive, demands rerun

October 1, 2023 Wale Ponnle

The election of Miss Rukayat Shittu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been declared invalid by the Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Ilorin.

In the March 18, 2023, state House of Assembly election, 26-year-old Miss Shittu was named the victor of the Owode-Onire constituency of Asa Local Government Area.

Abdullahi Yinusa Magaji, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, promptly filed a petition to challenge her election result.

Respondents in the case included both the APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). A rerun was mandated at five polling places in the lead decision made by Justice Ademola Enikuomehin, one of the three members of the panel.

“The petitioners were unsuccessful in 12 of the contested voting locations, while five were proven. The election is declared to be inconclusive and the results announced thus far are hereby void.

“In my opinion, the election of the five units was not significant enough to overturn the results of 66 other polling places.

“In conclusion, the petition was partially and consequently successful. The judge submitted, “I thus order a repeat of the election in the aforementioned polling units to be held within 90 days.

After winning the election in March, Miss Shittu gained notoriety as possibly the nation’s youngest lawmaker.

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Wale Ponnle

A passionate writer of everything politics in Nigeria with the goal and purpose of bringing authentic information and unbiased news to everyone everywhere.

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