The Nigeria Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Thursday, confirmed Ahmed Usman Ododo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the duly elected governor of Kogi State.
A three-judge panel unanimously decided that the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its candidate, Murtala Yakubu Ajaka, did not provide enough evidence to support their claims against Ododo’s election.
The court agreed with the Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had dismissed the evidence from the SDP’s first witness as hearsay.
It also noted that allegations of document forgery are pre-election issues that should be handled by the Federal High Court, not the Tribunal.
The appeal was dismissed for lacking merit, and the Tribunal’s earlier judgment, which affirmed Ododo’s victory in the November 11, 2023 election, was upheld.
The SDP and Ajaka had previously approached the Court of Appeal after being dissatisfied with the Tribunal’s decision. They sought to overturn the ruling and reinstate their witness’s testimony and documents, but the appeal was rejected.
The Court of Appeal maintained that Ahmed Usman Ododo was the rightful winner of the Kogi governorship election, dismissing all claims brought by the SDP and its candidate.