Ahead of the Kogi state governorship election billed for November 11, the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday, declined to nullify the governorship primary election that was conducted by the All Progressives Congress, APC.
In a decision written by Justice James Omotosho, the court similarly declined to nullify Ahmed Usman Ododo’s selection as the APC’s candidate for governor.
It determined that a lawsuit brought before it by Senator Smart Adeyemi, a former federal legislator who represented the Kogi West Senatorial District, lacked merit.
A primary election annulment was requested by the plaintiff in his lawsuit, FHC/ABJ/CS/556/2023, who claimed that the party had “fraudulently” nominated Ododo.
Adeyemi informed the court in a 35-paragraph affidavit he submitted in support of his initial summons that he paid the party N50 million for nomination and expression of interest forms before being screened and given the go-ahead to run in the primary election scheduled for April 14, 2023.
He testified in court that he was astonished to learn that the alleged primary election had taken place and a purported winner had been announced as he and his constituents waited to cast their ballots.
Adeyemi testified before the court that Ododo was hand-picked by the departing governor of the state, Yahaya Bello, to serve as the party’s flag bearer, in flagrant contravention of Section 177 of the 1999 Constitution, Sections 29 and 84 of the Electoral Act, and Article 20 of the APC Constitution. According to Vanguard.
Former legislator claimed that Bello, who is from the same zone as him, had initially requested that all other candidates withdraw in favour of Ododo, his favoured candidate.
According to political agreements, the court should be hearing from Kogi West, which has never before produced a governor in the history of the state.
More so, Adeyemi claimed that governor Bello manipulated the entire process to ensure that his first cousin, who is from the same polling unit, ward, local government, and tribe, won the party’s nomination for governor, in violation of the established rules and regulations.
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