Erstwhile Governor Muhammad Umar Jibrilla Bindow is reported to have filed an appeal at Yola Appeal Court seeking to be joined as party to appeal instituted by the opposition All Progressives Congress(APC), challenging the decision of the Election Petition Tribunal which upheld the election of the incumbent Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party(PDP).
Though the Appeal Court is yet to make any pronouncement on the application, observers believed that the former Governor is trying to catch in to the appeal in anticipation of favourable judgement which he feels will make him a sole beneficiary.
Simply put, Bindow who was not a party to the petition at lower court, now wants to be joined as a party to APC's appeal so that he can take the benefit of the judgement of the apex court if it is in his party's favour.
It could be recalled that the ex-Governor shortly after general elections, said he was not going to court but his party insisted on prosecuting the matter on the allegations of rigging which the party lost at the court and decided to appeal the matter.
NEWS PLATFORM reliably learnt that already, the APC had filed an appeal praying the court to set aside the judgement of the lower court, hence the decision of the former Governor to file a motion for a joinder.
The appellant (APC) has joined the ruling PDP, Governor Fintiri and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as 1st, 2nd and 3rd respondents to the appeal.
But According to the observers, what made the ex- Governor to join his party in the legal battle at this time was the decision of the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.
The Tribunal presided by a 3- Man Panel led by Justice Adeniran Adebara, had right from the preliminary objection of the 9 hour judgement delivered, held that APC has no locus standi to institute the action, since it is not the party that will occupy Dougirei Government House.
Justice Adebara, said that the party in the first place should not have approached the court on the matter without its Governorship candidate (Muhammad Umar Jibrilla Bindow) who earlier on conceded the defeat in a video tendered before it for not being party to it.
It is time that will tell the whether the erstwhile Governor's motion for joinder will scale through or not.
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