Friday, 29th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search

Idris Wada won Kogi guber polls, witness tells tribunal

By Oludare Richards, Abuja
14 April 2016   |   2:14 am
The Kogi State Election Tribunal yesterday opened with the petitioner, former Kogi State Governor, Idris Wada, who through the petitioning witness, Mr. Joe Agada, insisted that he (Wada) won the election with a total score of 204,877...
WADA

WADA

Says Yahaya Bello cannot inherit a dead man’s votes
The Kogi State Election Tribunal yesterday opened with the petitioner, former Kogi State Governor, Idris Wada, who through the petitioning witness, Mr. Joe Agada, insisted that he (Wada) won the election with a total score of 204,877 votes against 6,885 by Governor Yahaya Bello of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The witness, led in evidence by counsel to Wada, Chris Uche (SAN), said that Governor Bello could not inherit the votes scored by the late Audu Abubakar.

He told the court that the late Audu scored 240,867 votes on the November 21, 2015 governorship election but died at 7:45 a.m. on November 22, 2015 before the election was concluded.

“I don’t stand by the results announced by INEC in the supplementary election, especially on Yahaya Bello. Yahaya Bello did not beat Idris Wada in the scores. None of the candidates had the highest scores as at the November 21 elections.

“Audu died 7:45 a.m. in the morning of November 22, 2015. Yahaya Bello cannot inherit a dead man’s votes,” the witness told the court.

Agada further stated that the APC had no valid candidate for the supplementary election because at the time Bello was substituted, the statutory time allowed for substitution had elapsed.

While being cross-examined by counsel to the APC, Chief Akin Olujimi, the witness said: “Yahaya Bello did not participate in the supplementary election because he does not have PVC and therefore has no right to vote.

He told the tribunal that as at the time the election was declared inconclusive by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), none of the candidates won the election.

Meanwhile, the tribunal admitted as exhibits Agada’s statement on oath, result sheets from the 2,548 polling units in the state, voter’s register and the PDP letter of protest to INEC.

Other documents admitted by the tribunal include the witness party’s membership card, voter’s card, letter of his appointment as PDP chief agent at INEC coalition centre and a protest letter written by the PDP to INEC explaining to the electoral body of what happened during the election.

Hearing in Wada’s petition continues before the tribunal today.

0 Comments