The Court of Appeal in Abuja said on Thursday that Ahmed Usman Ododo from the All Progressives Congress (APC) is the rightful governor of Kogi state.
Three judges agreed that the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and their candidate, Murtala Yakubu Ajaka, did not prove their case well enough to challenge Ododo’s win.
The court explained that the Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja was right to ignore the first witness’s evidence because it was just based on hearsay.
The court said that any claims of document forgery by Ododo before the election should be handled by the Federal High Court, not the Tribunal.
Since the court found no strong reasons in the appeal, they decided to throw out the case and keep the Tribunal’s decision.
Previously, on May 27, the tribunal had already confirmed Ododo’s victory in the November 11, 2023 Kogi State governorship election.
The panel of three judges found the petition weak and dismissed it.
Ajaka and his party went to the Court of Appeal asking for the Tribunal’s decision to be overturned. They wanted their first witness’s testimony and documents to be included again.
They also asked the court to say that Ododo shouldn’t have been allowed to run for governor and that all votes for him and APC should be canceled.