₦airaland Forum

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its candidate in the last governorship election in Kogi State, Murtala Ajaka have urged the Court of Appeal to set aside the decision of the tribunal affirming the victory Usman Ododo of All Progressives Congress (APC).

The SDP and Ajaka want the court to void Ododo’s victory and declare them the winner of the election held on November 11 last year.

Their requests are contained in a notice of appeal they filed against the May 27 judgment of Justice Ado Yusuf Birnin Kudu-led Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which sat in Abuja.

In the appeal filed by their lawyer, Pius Akubo (SAN), the appellants are contending among others, that the tribunal’s judgement was a serious miscarriage of justice.

In a 31-ground notice of appeal, Ajaka and his party insist that they won the November 11, 2023 governorship election and should be declared the rightful winners.

They want the appellate court to issue an order restoring the testimony of their first witness (PW1) as well as all the documents they tendered, but which the tribunal expunged from its records.

The appellants also want the Appeal Court to hold that Ododo was not even qualified to have contested the election into the office of Governor of Kogi State and that all votes ascribed and or allocated to him and the APC are wasted votes.

They are equally praying for an order granting the reliefs sought by the appellants in the petition and thereupon declaring the first appellant (Ajaka) as the duly elected Governor of Kogi State

Faulting the tribunal’s judgment, the appellants noted that although the tribunal agreed that their petiton was filled within time and that there was over voting, the tribunal proceeded to uphold the election.

They added: “In their confusion they (members of the tribunal’s three-member panel) ruled that PW1 who displayed the documents with which they agreed there was over voting is not clear to them. They claimed they did not know if he was INEC staff or not.

“It was the tribunal that ordered INEC to provide the BVAS and someone who will power and display the BVAS in court and that PW1 came to the court with a certified letter from INEC stating that he was indeed the representative of INEC.

” PW1 was in the court with his identity card and other supporting documents to show he is INEC staff.

“Recall further that when the PW1 absented from the court, the tribunal ordered INEC to produce him or produce another person and they did comply to produce him yet, the tribunal members said they do not know him. What a contradictive judgement.”

The appellant argued that “the election of November 11, 2023 in Kogi State was not conducted in substantial compliance with the Electoral Act. 2022 as well as manual and guidelines involving the conduct of elections having regards to the numerous instances of over voting.”

The appellants claimed to have demonstrated in a graphic and tabular form, before the tribunal, that they scored the majority of lawful votes in the election and not the second and third respondents (Ododo and the APC).

The appellants also claimed to have led evidence to the effects that, if the votes affected by over-voting are deducted from the overall votes, the appellants and not the second and third respondents will have majority of lawful votes.

The SDP and Ajaka added that clearly and unambiguously, they tendered all the necessary election forms and documents which completely demonstrated that the second respondents did not score the majority of lawful votes cast as held by the tribunal.

KingTom:
Werey

Ellexy:
Even though even though

Amoto94:
Team Rivers is peaceful in the mud.

Godstime001:
And so?

Godstime001:
Know what. Baba go and sit down. Kogi of all places.

Ballzproblem2:
whatever you say chief

Ballzproblem2:
guess what popped up on feed , you can't make this shit up ,I didn't search for it 💀💀💀😂

Doyin2:
Natasha is a muslim

Amoto94:
How far? Are you home for the celebration?

Amigoss:
But he owes anybody to insult the oppositions who are doing what he did when he was younger...

He should rest altogether from the smear campaign against obi/Obidients who are now the younger soyinka

sod09:
I was confused reading the story because it wasn’t straight forward
I don’t like anything that involves naija police
It’s always unprofessional

Amigoss:
Isnt this what we all want/expect from Soyinka as an agba activist that he is, especially as campaigns are over even though we know he doesn't like obi and hates Obidients....

Nobody is expecting him to lead a protest or a hijack a radio station at age of 90,like he has always does against previous admin starting from obj,do same now with the current president and his wife else we now know who is bankrolling him...

sod09:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7pabJkoS04/?igsh=Njhqd2Jtcjd4Nmw4

This story started last week when the 2 girls went to Abuja to meet a Facebook date were declared missing, I think they tracked and got the suspect who is in organ harvesting business.
A billionaire was arrested, in the process of transporting him the police said he died🤣

How did he died?
Who shot him because that was the report
Where's the body
What of the 2 girls bodies

To live in this country is becoming more dangerous and why are some ladies gullible sef
Money!
Money!1


There are many unreported cases like this too

OasisX:


....let me simplify it for you. The Anthem was 14th Emir of Kano and now 16th Emir of Kano.

The Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja, on Monday, affirmed Usman Ododo as the valid winner of the gubernatorial contest that held in the state on November 11, 2023.

The Justice Ado Birnin-Kudu led three-member panel dismissed the petition that was brought before it by the candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Murtala Ajaka.

The tribunal held that Ajaka failed to prove his allegation that governor Ododo, who was the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, did not secure the highest number of valid votes cast at the election.

It equally dismissed Ajaka’s allegation that the election was not only fraught with irregularities, but also conducted with substantial non-compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.

The tribunal held that it found no reason to dislodge the result the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, declared in favour of Ododo and the APC.

It will be recalled that INEC had announced that Ododo polled a total of 446,237 votes to defeat Ajaka who came second with 259,052 votes.

Dino Melaye of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, came a distant third with 46,362 votes.

Though Melaye declined to challenge the outcome of the election, however, Ajaka approached the tribunal to invalidate the Certificate of Return that was issued to the APC candidate, Ododo.

446237 is a Goal