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Wada asks court to declare him winner of Kogi guber poll

By Bridget Chiedu Onochie, Abuja
10 December 2019   |   4:13 am
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the November 16 governorship election in Kogi State, Engineer Musa Wada, have gone to court to contest the result of the election.

Engineer Musa Wada

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the November 16 governorship election in Kogi State, Engineer Musa Wada, have gone to court to contest the result of the election.

Wada, who was accompanied by his lawyer, Jibril Okutepa and party loyalists to the Kogi State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, Abuja, Saturday, asked the court to order the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue him a Certificate of Return as duly elected Governor of Kogi state.

The reliefs, which was contained in a three-volume petition of over 500 pages each, was dated December 5 and filed at the tribunal sitting in the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.

The petitioners in a suit marked EPT/KG/GOV/06/2019 are claiming that the election was characterised by irregularities, violence, ballot snatching and stuffing, and non-compliance with the electoral act, constitution and INEC’s guideline for governorship elections.

Wada, who was present to sign the petition stated that what happened in Kogi was a charade and not an election, insisting that the All Progressives Congress (APC) with the aid of security agents, had a field day in rigging the election in favour of Bello.

Consequently, the petitioners want the tribunal to determine and declare that the 2nd respondent (Yahaya Bello) was not duly elected and/or returned by a majority of lawful votes cast during the election.

They are seeking a declaration that neither the second nor the third respondent (APC) scored the majority of lawful votes cast at the election to the office of the Governor.

The petitioners there ask the court to issue an order nullifying the Certificate of Return issued to Bello by INEC and in addition, issue an order nullifying the entire governorship election conducted in the state on by reason of substantial non-compliance with the provisions of the Constitution and extant Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).

Further more, Wada wants an order declaring that he scored the majority of votes cast at the election and that having fulfilled the requirements of section 179(2)(a) and (b) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria 1999, (as amended), he is the winner by majority of lawful votes cast and thus returned elected.

Alternatively, the petitioners are praying for an order directing INEC to conduct supplementary election in the polling units where elections were cancelled; the margin of lead between the 2nd respondent and the first petitioner being Iess than the registered voters in the cancelled polling units.

In further alternative to the reliefs above, the petitioners want a declaration that the election of November 16 and the subsequent declaration and return of the 2nd respondent are voided by corrupt practices in breach of the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended), which substantially affected the results of the election. Wada and his party are also asking for an order for fresh elections, the November 16 election, having been plagued with corrupt practices, which substantially affected the outcome.

Bello was said to have polled 406,222 votes to defeat his main contender, Wada, who was said to have scored 189,704 votes.

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