BY SEGUN ADEBAYO – The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has affirmed the election of Natasha Akpoti-Uduagan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District in the current 10th National Assembly (NASS)
In a judgment delivered on Tuesday, the Court dismissed the appeal filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Abubakar Ohere, for lacking in merit.
The Appeal Court panel upheld the decision of the Kogi State Election Petition Tribunal, which had earlier nullified Ohere’s victory and declared Akpoti-Uduagan as the winner of the February 25, 2023 senatorial poll.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Ohere as winner of the election but Akpoti-Uduagan rejected the result and headed for the Tribunal.
Consequently, the Kogi State Election Petitions Tribunal invalidated the victory of Ohere and handed over the ticket to Akpoti-Uduagan with its Chairman, Justice K. A. Orjiako, who read the three-member panel’s unanimous judgment, maintaining that Senator Ohere’s results were inflated in nine polling units in the Ajaokuta Local Government Area of the State.
He added that INEC reduced Natasha’s results in those areas and omitted the results of three other polling units meant for Natasha in the same LGA.
Following the necessary corrections, the Tribunal declared Natasha as the winner of the election with 54,074 votes, surpassing Ohere, who garnered 51,291 votes.
Dissatisfied with the Tribunal verdict, the APC candidate filed an appeal, but he lost out as the appellate court upheld the declaration of Akpoti-Uduagan as the authentic winner.
Additionally, the panel also awarded the sum of N500, 000 against Ohere.
