• Dankwambo
The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Gombe State yesterday commenced the retrial of the petition filed by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Governorship candidate, Alhaji Ja’afar Abubakar, against the election of Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo.
The tribunal under Justice Mohammed Ibrahim Sirajo had quashed the petition on technical grounds but after appealing the judgment at the Court of Appeal in Yola, the earlier judgment was set aside for a retrial.
So far, the new panel of Judges under Justice AA Nwodo, in its first sitting, received about 600 documents presented by Alhaji Ja’afar Abubakar, and assured that it will receive all documents within five days of its sitting considering the limited time-frame of the tribunal.
The documents are INEC forms used in the conduct of the governorship election in Akko, Billiri, Balanga, Dukku and Gombe Local Government Areas and which failed to feature him and his party in the election. There are eleven Local Government Areas in Gombe State.