A five-member panel of the Supreme Court has reserved its judgment in the appeals filed by Muritala Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Timipre Sylva of the All Progressives Congress (APC) concerning the governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa States.
Ajaka and Sylva are challenging the results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2023 governorship elections in their respective states.
On Monday, the Supreme Court announced that it had reserved judgment on these appeals.
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Ajaka had contested the decision of a three-member tribunal that upheld the election of Ahmed Usman Ododo of APC as Kogi’s governor.
Following the Appeal Court’s judgment in June, Ajaka claimed that the decision was tainted by irregularities and manipulations.
The Appeal Court had affirmed the tribunal’s ruling, which dismissed Ajaka’s petition as lacking merit.
After the judgment, Ajaka issued a statement to the press announcing his intention to appeal the Court of Appeal’s decision.
He also noted that his effort to reclaim his mandate extends beyond the appellate court’s ruling.
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On May 17, 2024, the Tribunal in Abuja upheld the election of Senator Douye Diri and his deputy, Senator Lawrence Eruwjadkpo, as the duly elected governor and deputy governor, respectively. This led Sylva to seek an appeal.
In July, the Court of Appeal in Abuja dismissed Sylva’s appeal against the judgment of the Bayelsa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.
Justice James Abundaga, who delivered the lead judgment, affirmed the declaration of Diri and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as the rightful winners of the November 11, 2023 election.
The Court of Appeal awarded N500,000 in costs to be paid by the APC and Sylva to the respondents.
The appellate court ruled that the appellants failed to provide credible evidence proving that the election occurred in 184 polling units across Nembe, Ogbia, and Southern Ijaw. It also noted that, based on the evidence and exhibits presented, the election was not conducted in the disputed areas by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and thus the issue of vote collation was not applicable.
