Appeal court delivers landmark judgement on Kogi guber election

Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements

On Thursday, July 11, the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, affirmed Usman Ododo as the duly elected governor of Kogi state.

The court affirmed Ododo as Kogi governor and dismissed Ajaka's suit for lack of merit. Photo credit: Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo, Murtala Yakubu Ajaka
Source: Facebook

In the judgement delivered on Thursday, a three-member panel of the appellate court dismissed the petition filed by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Murtala Ajaka, its governorship candidate.

Legit.ng reported that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced Ododo, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the Kogi governorship election held on November 11, 2023.

Ododo polled 446,237 votes to defeat Ajaka who came second with 259,052 votes; and Dino Melaye of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who scored 46,362 votes.

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After the poll, the SDP and Ajaka filed petitions to challenge Ododo’s victory.

Aggrieved by the decision of the tribunal, SDP and its candidate approached the court of appeal.

Ododo vs Ajaka: Appeal court verdict on Thursday

However, on Thursday, the appeal court agreed with the verdict of the lower court, The Cable reported.

The appellate court also held that the issue of alleged certificate forgery ought to have commenced at a federal high court as a pre-election matter, PremiumTimes reported.

The appeal court held that the appellant could not prove its case “beyond reasonable doubt”.

Consequently, Ododo’s election as governor was upheld by the court.

Kogi governor Ododo visits President Tinubu

Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that Governor Ododo paid a visit to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the presidential villa in Abuja.

In a statement, on Wednesday, May 15 by Kingsley Fanwo, the Kogi commissioner for information and communications, president Tinubu expressed satisfaction with how Ododo handled the security situation in the state.

The Kogi commissioner for information and communications stated that the meeting between the two APC chieftains also touched on areas such as education, the welfare of the state's civil servants, primary healthcare delivery, and sundry other issues of interest.

Source: Legit.ng