The Supreme Court is set to deliver its judgments today regarding the election litigations involving five governors.

These cases have been undergoing legal proceedings for the past nine months.

The apex court had previously reserved judgment after concluding arguments from the respective lawyers representing the governors in their separate cases.

The five states involved in the governorship appeals are Nasarawa, Delta, Gombe, Kebbi, and Ogun. The legal deadline for the expiration of these appeals falls between January 21 and 22.

In Nasarawa State, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Hon. David Ombugadu, approached the Supreme Court to challenge the nullification of the Nasarawa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal’s judgment by the Court of Appeal. They argued that the appellate court erred in reversing the decision of the tribunal and requested the apex court to restore the tribunal’s judgment.

Similarly, in Kebbi State, the PDP and its candidate, Aminu Bande, urged the Supreme Court to set aside the judgments of the Court of Appeal and the election tribunal, which upheld the election of Nasir Idris as the state governor under the All Progressives Congress (APC). The respondents in this case requested the court to dismiss the appeal for lack of merit and uphold the decisions of the lower courts.

In Delta State, three candidates from different political parties—Kenneth Gbagi of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Senator Ovie Omo-Agege of the APC, and Ken Pela of the Labour Party (LP)—sought to challenge Sheriff Oborevwori’s election as governor. The governorship election tribunal and the appellate court had both upheld Oborevwori’s victory. The appellants appealed to the Supreme Court to nullify the election, call for a fresh election, or declare them the winners. The judgment for this case has been reserved.

Oladipupo Adebutu, the PDP candidate, is seeking to overturn Governor Dapo Abiodun’s election in Ogun State. Adebutu’s legal team argued that the cancellation of votes from 99 polling units, amounting to over 40,000 votes, could impact the margin of victory between Abiodun and Adebutu. The respondents countered this argument by citing constitutional provisions, stating that a governor’s election cannot be challenged based solely on the margin of lead. The Supreme Court reserved judgment in this case as well.

In the case of Governor Muhammad Yahaya of Gombe State, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal filed by Nafiu Bala of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) due to its lack of merit. The court dismissed the appeal shortly after it was withdrawn by the appellants.

Furthermore, the Supreme Court adjourned to today for judgment in the appeal filed by Jibrin Barde of the PDP. Parties have presented their arguments, and the judgment is scheduled to be delivered today, as the appeal expires on Sunday, January 21.