Symbol of Justice

Richard Elesho

The recently conducted Off-cycle Governorship Election in Kogi State is set to enter a new phase. The Election Petition Tribunal, constituted by President of the Court of Appeal (COA), Justice Monica Bolna’an-Dongban, to look into complaints from the exercise is set to begin sitting on Saturday, November 25, 2023.

Mr David Umar-Mike, Secretary of the tribunal, disclosed this to Our Correspondent in Lokoja on Thursday.

The Nov. 11 election saw Alhaji Usman Ododo of the All Progressives Congress, APC, emerge as winner with 446,237 votes while his closest rival, Murtala Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, garnered 259,052 votes.

The tribunal secretary said: “By God’s grace, the tribunal will be sitting this Saturday, Nov. 25. We will take exparte motions.

“This is because all we have at hand right now are the exparte motions that will be taken on that Saturday.

“But the work proper may take few more days because counsels will have to go and start looking for documents at Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and the rest of them before they file their various petitions, ” he stated.

He said that the election tribunal was in line with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria ( 1999 as amended) and the Electoral Act (as amended).

According to him, the registry of the tribunal has since opened for business at the state High Court of Justice complex, Lokoja.

It would be recalled that 18 political parties and their candidates participated in the election of Governor Yahaya Bello’s successor, whose tenure ends on 27 January 2024.