Candidates representing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP) have formally contested the outcome of the recent by-election for the Ganye State Constituency in Adamawa State, petitioning the Election Petitions Tribunal to annul the results.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had earlier announced Misa Musa, the candidate from the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), as the victor of the election.
Buba Joda of the PDP and Benjamin Brandford of the LP jointly argued before the tribunal that the electoral process violated the provisions of the Electoral Act, urging the court to invalidate the election.
In a petition submitted on September 6, 2025, Buba, through his legal representative L. N. Nzadon, named Hon. Misa Musa (APC) and INEC as the first, second, and third respondents respectively.
He requested the tribunal to declare the election of Hon. Misa Musa as the representative for Ganye Constituency in the August 16, 2025 by-election null and void, citing breaches of sections 51(2) and (3) of the Electoral Act, 2022.
Furthermore, Buba sought an order compelling Hon. Musa to surrender the certificate of return issued by INEC, and called for a re-run of the election in five pdp-zoning-split-boosts-tinubu-olawepo-hashim/” title=”…'s Zoning Gamble Could Tear the Party Apart and Hand Victory to Tinubu – Olawepo-Hashim Warns”>polling units where incidents of over-voting and other irregularities were reported.
Similarly, Hon. Benjamin Brandford of the Labour Party, who secured only 68 votes, challenged the validity of the election throughout the constituency. He alleged widespread non-compliance with the Electoral Act, as well as the official manuals and guidelines governing election conduct.
In his petition, numbered EPT/AD/SHA/01/25, Brandford included Hon. Misa Musa (APC), Hon. Buba Mohammed Joda (PDP), and INEC as respondents one through five.
Represented by counsel Samson Bukar, Hon. Benjamin contended that the number of votes cast in certain polling units exceeded the legitimate count of accredited voters, asserting that some individuals voted multiple times.
He also claimed that INEC’s agents arrived late at several polling stations and prematurely closed voting while eligible voters were still waiting in line to cast their ballots.
Moreover, Brandford accused the electoral officials of tampering with and canceling results to mask instances of over-voting, manipulating outcomes to favor the APC candidate.
He implored the tribunal to annul the declaration of Hon. Misa Musa as the winner, emphasizing that the breaches of the Electoral Act significantly influenced the election’s final result.
