Governors Duoye Diri of Bayelsa state and his Imo and Kogi counterparts, Hope Uzodinma and Usman Ododo, respectively were on Friday affirmed by the Supreme as the duly elected governors of their states
For Kogi State, Yakubu Muritala Ajaka, the Kogi governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) had approached the apex court to challenge the concurrent judgements of the Court of Appeal and election tribunal, which affirmed the victory of Ododo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the November 11 Kogi gubernatorial election.
In the appeal marked: SC/CV/654/2024, Ajaka and his party, the SDP, alleged wide irregularities in the poll.
In its judgement delivered on Friday, the five-member panel of the apex court led by Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba, dismissed the two appeals filed separately by Murtala Yakubu Ajaka, and the candidate of Action Alliance (AA), Olayika Braimoh.
The apex Court, in a unanimous decision, upheld the earlier rulings of both the Court of Appeal and the Election Petition Tribunal.
Justice Sadiq Umar, who read the lead judgement declared the APC and its candidate, Ododo, the valid winner of the November 11, 2023 governorship Election in Kogi State.
Governor Hope Uzodimma, who was candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the November 11, 2023 governorship election in Imo State, was declared winner.
A five-member panel of the apex court in a unanimous decision dismissed the appeal brought before the court by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Samuel Anyawu, in the governorship election in the state.
In the lead judgement delivered by Justice Mohammed Baba Idris, the court resolved all the issues raised for determination in the appeal against the appellants.
The apex court upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal and the Imo State Governorship election tribunal which earlier dismissed the joint appeal filed by Anyanwu and his party.
Declaring Uzodimma as duly re-elected governor of Imo State, the apex court held that the appeal filed against his victory by the PDP and its candidate, lacked merit.
The Supreme Court also upheld Douye Diri, as the validly elected governor of Bayelsa State.
A five-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Garba Lawal, in its judgement on the governorship election in Bayelsa state dismissed the appeal brought before it by the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timipre Sylva and his party, for lacking merit a gross abuse of court process.
It upheld the concurrent decisions of the Court of Appeal and the Election Petition Tribunal, which earlier affirmed Diri as duly elected governor of Bayelsa State.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja, on July 18, in a unanimous judgement affirmed the decision of the Bayelsa Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which upheld the November 11, 2023, re-election of Governor Diri.
A 3-man panel of the appellate court had in the judgement dismissed an appeal brought before the Court by Sylva and APC, seeking to set aside the decision of the Tribunal.
The Justice Adekunle Adeleye-led three-member tribunal had on May 27, dismissed the petition filed against Governor Diri’s re-election by the APC and its candidate for lacking in merit.
The tribunal held that both Sylva and APC failed to adduce any credible evidence to substantiate any of the allegations they raised against the outcome of the governorship poll.
