Kogiflame
The Court of Appeal upholds the decision of the Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which affirmed the victory of His Excellency Ahmed Usman Ododo as the duly elected governor of Kogi State in the November 11 gubernatorial election, and dismisses the appeal filed by the SDP candidate, Murtala Yakubu Ajaka.
The appellate court on Thursday backed the verdict of the Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja which had affirmed Ododo’s election victory.
The tribunal had dismissed the petition filed by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its governorship candidate, Murtala Ajaka.
Legal disputes
Nairametrics previously reported that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared the candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Usman Ododo, as the winner of the keenly contested November 11, 2023 Kogi State Governorship Election.
The state Returning Officer, Prof Johnson Urama, who is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics) of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, announced Ododo as the winner at 10:23 pm on Sunday, November 12, 2023.
According to the announced results, Ododo polled 446,237 votes, to beat his closest rival, Murtala Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), who scored 259,052, while Dino Melaye of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) polled 46,362 votes.
However, the petitioners approached the tribunal seeking an overturn of the election results and an order directing INEC to conduct a fresh election in about five LGAs.
Arguments at the tribunal
Ajaka’s legal team led by Joseph Okutepa(SAN) had challenged the poll on the grounds of alleged forgery, voting and non-compliance to the Electoral Act.
The petitioner called 25 witnesses from the five Local Government Areas including Adavi, and Okene LGAs, and they challenged the results from the disputed polling units.
The petitioners also alleged that over-voting occurred in 5 local government areas of Kogi state including Adavi, Okene, Okeyi, and LGAs.
However, the APC legal team led by Emmanuel Ukala challenged the competence of the witnesses presented by the petitioner, adding that their statements were not filed along with the petition.
Counsel for INEC, Kanu Agabi (SAN) maintained that the witnesses presented by the petitioner were incompetent because “they are not the makers” of the electoral documents submitted as exhibits.
The tribunal dismissed the petition and affirmed the election of Ododo while holding that the petitioner could not prove that the governor presented a forged certificate, among other things.
Parties now approached the appeal court seeking favourable judgements for their clients.
What the Appeal Court said
On Thursday, a three-man panel of the appeal court agreed with the tribunal that Ajaka’s witnesses were incompetent because their statements did not accompany the petition in line with electoral laws.
The appeal court also held that the issue of alleged certificate forgery ought to have commenced at a Federal High Court.
Subsequently, the appeal Court held that the appellant could not prove its case “beyond reasonable doubt”, thereby upholding Ododo’s election.
More insights
A governor is an elected official who is in charge of the state affairs including its internally generated and federally allocated revenues.
By the judgment of the tribunal, Ododo has been backed by the appeal court to continue discharging his duties as Kogi State governor.
Ododo took over from ex-governor Yahaya Bello and he served as former Local Government Auditor-General in Kogi state.
Meanwhile, the Kogi State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Hon. Kingsley Femi Fanwo has hailed the “sound” judgement of the Appeal Court, affirming the victory of Alh. Usman Ododo as the democratically elected Governor of Kogi State, saying the judgement represents “echoes of the indisputable victory” of the Governor at the poll.
Speaking to journalists shortly after the judgement, Thursday, the Kogi State Government Spokesman said the Governor will remain unwavering in his faith in the judiciary.
His words: “Today’s judgement represents echoes of our victory on November 11, 2023. We campaigned round the state and worked hard to reassure the people that our party is the most reliable to take the state forward.
“November 11 will continue to be remembered in Kogi State as the day that Kogites across the Senatorial Districts united to speak with one voice, birthing a resounding victory for the incumbent Governor.
“Today’s verdict has offered another great opportunity for those who lost at the poll and in the courts to join the Governor in moving the state forward”.
Fanwo said the court case did not in any way slow governance down, as the Governor has continued to “roll up his sleeves and deliver democracy dividends to the great people of the State.
“The jubilation that greeted the verdict affirming the victory of the Chief Servant of Kogi State is a demonstration of the triumph of the people’s will”.
Fanwo urged the people of the state to continue to support the Governor in order to make the State the Confluence of Excellence.
