The Supreme Court on Monday affirmed the election of Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State.
A seven - man panel of the court led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad , made this declaration in two judgments dismissing the separate appeals filed by the Peoples Democratic Party and the Socialist Democratic Party .
Both PDP and SDP, along with their governorship candidates in the election, had alleged that the poll was marred by corrupt practices and non- compliance with the provision of the Nigerian Constitutuon, the Electoral Act and the Independent National Electoral Commission ’s Electoral Guidelines.
Though the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Ibrahim Tanko, led the seven-man panel that heard the case of the appellants, the lead judgement was however prepared by Justice Inyang Okoro and read by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji.
The apex court said it was satisfied that the Court of Appeal neither denied the Appellants fair hearing, nor wrongly evaluated their case against the outcome of the Kogi State governorship poll.
The apex court resolved all the five issues raised for determination in the appeal against the PDP and its governorship candidate in the disputed poll, Musa Wada, who jointly filed the appeal .
Resolving all the five issues in favour of Bello , his party, the APC, and the Independent National Electoral Commission , the apex court declared the appellants’ appeal as lacking in merit.
“ Having resolved all the five issues against the appellants, it is abundantly clear that the appeal is devoid of any scintilla of merit and it is accordingly dismissed ,” the court ruled .
Justice Abba - Aji said of the appeal filed by SDP and its candidate , Natasha Akpoti, that the concurrent judgments of both the Court of Appeal and and the election petition tribunal remained “ unimpeachable” .
Aside from the CJN , Justices Okoro and Abba - Aji, other members of the panel who also agreed with the lead judgments are Justices Olabode Rhodes - Vivour, Sylvester Ngwuta, Kudirat Kekere- Ekun, and Amina Augie .