Nasarawa Tribunal Judgement: Sule Alleges Religious Conspiracy, Points Finger at Bishop Abioye
Abdullahi Sule, the Governor of Nasarawa State, has raised allegations of religious bias as he responds to his recent removal from office by the State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal. Governor Sule contends that two Christian Judges conspired to oust him from his position based on religious considerations.
The Tribunal, which convened in Lafia, the capital of Nasarawa State, issued its decision on Monday, October 2, 2023, declaring David Ombugadu, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as the winner of the March 18, 2023 Governorship election in the state. Ombugadu had challenged the outcome of the poll, disputing Sule’s victory as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
In a virtual delivery of the judgment, Justice Ezekiel Ajayi, the chairman of the three-member tribunal, nullified Governor Sule’s election and affirmed Ombugadu as the legitimate Governor of the State. This verdict, which spanned about two hours and 53 minutes, involved the withdrawal of the Certificate of Return from Sule, with its subsequent issuance to Ombugadu.
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Governor Sule, speaking in Abuja during the 2023 Peace and Development Summit for Young University Students, asserted that religious undertones had been present in the political landscape before the elections. He recalled that Bishop David Abioye of Living Faith Church Worldwide, also known as Winners Chapel, had urged Christians to vote exclusively for Christian candidates before the March 18 Governorship election.
Bishop Abioye serves as the First Vice President of Living Faith Church and oversees the vast Winners Chapel complex in Auta Balefi, along the Abuja-Keffi Expressway in Nasarawa State.
Governor Sule insinuated that Bishop Abioye’s statements may have influenced the tribunal’s ruling, alleging that the Judges had based their judgment on religious sentiments rather than the evidence presented before them. He expressed his concern that two Christian Judges concluded that a Christian had won the election, while a Muslim Judge believed otherwise.