The Kogi Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja has affirmed the election, Yahaya Bello, as governor of the state.
The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 election, Mr Musa Wada, had filed a petition challenging the victory of incumbent governor Bello at the poll.
In a judgment of two to one, delivered by the Chairman of the Tribunal, Justice Kashim Kaigama, on Saturday, the tribunal held that the petitioner failed to prove the allegations of over-voting, massive thumb printing, voter intimidation, and other electoral malpractices.
The tribunal also awarded a cost of one million naira to be paid by the petitioners, PDP and Musa Wada to INEC, Yahaya Bello and APC who are the respondents.
In a dissenting judgment, Justice Ohimai Ovbiagele nullified the election of Governor Yahaya Bello and ordered INEC to conduct fresh elections in seven local government areas where the petitioners proved their allegations of over-voting, thuggery, voter intimidation, massive thumb printing, and other electoral malpractices.
In the election, Wada scored a total of 189,704 votes to emerge, first runner-up, while Yahaya Bello of APC scored 406,222 votes to emerge the winner of the election, defeating the PDP candidate by a wide merging of 216,518 votes and set a record as the highest margin ever in the history of the state Governorship Election.
