The Supreme Court of Nigeria has upheld the elections of Usman Ododo as Governor of Kogi State, Hope Uzodimma as Governor of Imo State, and Duoye Diri as Governor of Bayelsa State, all following the November 11, 2023, governorship elections.
In Kogi State, the Supreme Court on Friday affirmed the election of Usman Ododo of the All Progressives Congress as the rightful winner.
The decision came after the court dismissed the appeal by Murtala Ajaka, the candidate of the Social Democratic Party , who had challenged the outcome of the election. The five-man panel of the court ruled that Ajaka failed to prove the allegation of substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
The court also addressed other allegations brought forward by Ajaka, stating, “Allegations of age falsification and certificate forgery are pre-election matters, which should have been handled by the Federal High Court.”
Consequently, Ajaka’s appeal was dismissed for lacking merit. The Independent National Electoral Commission had earlier announced that Ododo secured 446,237 votes, defeating Ajaka, who received 259,052 votes.
In Imo State, the Supreme Court confirmed the election of Senator Hope Uzodimma of the APC as governor, dismissing the challenge against his victory.
Similarly, in Bayelsa State, the Supreme Court upheld the re-election of Governor Duoye Diri of the Peoples Democratic Party.
The court dismissed the appeal of Timipre Sylva, the APC candidate, who had contested the election results.
The five-member panel, led by Justice Lawal Garba, declared that Sylva’s appeal was an abuse of the court process, citing that “the APC Governorship candidate has only one right to appeal the judgment of the Tribunal, not multiple appeals.” The court also dismissed Sylva’s appeal for lacking merit.
INEC had declared that Governor Duoye Diri won the election with 175,196 votes, defeating his closest rival, Timipre Sylva, who garnered 110,108 votes.
