Politics

Kogi governorship: Supreme Court upholds Yahaya Bello’s election

Monday, August 31, 2020 at 5:54 PM by Kess Ewubare

- The Supreme Court has confirmed Yahaya Bello of the APC as the winner of the governorship election in Kogi state

- The verdict was delivered by the apex court in a seven-man panel led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Tanko

- The court upheld the concurrent decisions of the trial tribunal and the Court of Appeal that previously confirmed Bello's election

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The Supreme Court on Monday, August 31, confirmed Yahaya Bello of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the governorship election in Kogi state.

The apex court in a seven-man panel led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Tanko dismissed the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the election, Musa Wada, Channels TV reported.

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Kogi State governorship election results: Who won?

Supreme Court delivers judgment on Kogi governorship election — The Supreme Court has upheld the election of Yahaya Bello as the governor of Kogi state. Photo credits: AIT News
Source: UGC

In its judgment, the court upheld the concurrent decisions of the trial tribunal and the Court of Appeal that the petitioners failed to prove their claim that Bello was not lawfully returned by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the winner of the election held in November 16, 2019.

In another judgment, the Supreme Court dismissed the request by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its candidate in the last governorship election in Kogi state, Natasha Akpoti for the nullification of the election of Governor Yahaya Bello

According to the Nation newspaper, the court said the SDP and Akpoti failed to provide substantial evidence to show why Bello's election should be nullified.

Meanwhile, the immediate past governor of Bayelsa state, Seriake Dickson has said the judgment of the election petition tribunal which annulled the state governorship election will not take effect until the matter gets to the Supreme Court.

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Kogi guber: Huge number of APC aspirants is due to my efforts, says Gov Bello

Dickson, in a statement on Monday, August 17, said Duoye Diri remains the governor of Bayelsa state until all appeal processes are exhausted, Vanguard reported.

He urged the people of Bayelsa not to be perturbed by the judgment which he described as a temporary setback.

Stil on politics, the PDP in Edo state has declared that it would make rigging impossible for the APC and its candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu during the incoming governorship election in the state.

Legit.ng reported that the party in a thread of tweet on Thursday, July 9, said that the APC should desist from its plots to rig the Edo election, saying that the people of the state would firmly resist it.

READ ALSO: Edo 2020: Everything you need to know about the upcoming elections

The party asked members of the APC to blame themselves for their current woes and get ready to accept their inevitable crushing defeat at the poll.