By Tunji Wusu

The Permanent Voters Cards (PVC) registry and the records of the Town Model Primary School Sabon Birni in Sokoto state have been accepted as exhibits by the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal in that state.

Alhaji Sa’idu Umar, a PDP candidate for governor in the March 18, 2023 election, presented Ibrahim Abdullahi, the head teacher of Town Model Primary School, as evidence at the hearing’s reopened on Wednesday to show that APC deputy governor Idris Gobir was not there.

Abdullahi submitted his 1981 admission school record and his 1987 graduation school record after being called as a witness.

Justice Haruna Mshelia, the tribunal’s chair, allowed the applications while the lead respondent’s attorney, Jecob Ochidi, argued against them.

In response to a cross-examination, Abdullahi identified himself as the school’s current head teacher and described how the name of the institution changed from Town Primary School to Model Primary School.

Abubakar Usman, the interim head of Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) ICT department, and Abdulmumini Usman, INEC’s head of operations, who were both called as witnesses by Ameh, were in possession of PVC registers.

Umar and the PDP claimed in the appeal that the election was invalid because it had broken electoral laws.

According to Umar, the responders were not eligible to run in the election at the time, and he prayed that because of their ineligibility, votes that were incorrectly given to them in the election would be illegal or wasted votes, null and worthless.