The Kogi state governorship election tribunal, sitting in Abuja, has again upheld the election of Governor Yahaya Bello as the governor.
Captain Idris wada of the Peoples Democratic Party, said INEC contravened the electoral law by allowing the APC to replace the late Prince Abubakar Audu with Mr. Yahaya Bello, who was not qualified to be declared winner and did not have a deputy governor at the time, a situation he claimed disqualified.
He challenged the outcome at the tribunal chaired by Justice Halima Mohammed. He argued that Mr. Bello went into the supplementary poll without a valid running-mate, and prayed in his petition that the tribunal rejects the nomination of Mr. Bello as a replacement for the late Abubakar Audu because it was done outside the 21-day period allowed by the Electoral Act.
In her verdict, the tribunal chairperson said the 21-day period for the substitution of candidate did not apply in the matter since Mr. Bello “is a member of the APC and having come second in the primary election earlier conducted by the party”, she also added that Mr. Bello’s nomination was in line with the Electoral Act and that Mr. Idris Wada not being a member of the APC, had no right to challenge the process.
