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From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The Abuja division of the Court of Appeal has reserved judgment in the appeal brought by Senator Smart Adeyemi against the emergence of Ahmed Ododo as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the November 11 election in Kogi State.
A three-member panel of the appellate court led by Justice Muhammed Shuaibu took the decision on Wednesday after the adoption of final written addresses by counsel to parties involved in the litigation.
In the appeal, Adeyemi is challenging the July 12 judgment by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which he is praying the appellate court to set aside on the grounds that the trial court erred in law in reaching its conclusions on issues raised.
In the suit marked FHC/CS/556/2023,
Adeyemi, who was a governorship aspirant of the APC in Kogi State, had sued to challenging the outcome of party’s primary election from which Ododo emerged as the candidate.
The senator noted that while INEC claimed that option A4 mode was adopted for the primary election it monitored, the APC told the court that the election was through a secret ballot.
He argued that the trial court failed to properly evaluate the proof of evidence that was placed before it by the parties and that, there were inconsistencies in the report tendered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the affidavit that the APC deposed to.
Adeyemi alleged that the primary election that purportedly produced Ododo as the APC governorship candidate did not hold and that the results were forged.
He stated that Ododo was handpicked as APC’s candidate by the outgoing Governor of the state, Yahaya Bello, in gross violation of Section 177 of the 1999 Constitution, Section 29 and 84 of the Electoral Act as well as Article 20 of the Constitution of the APC.
Adeyemi prayed the court cancel the primary election on the grounds that it was not validly conducted and order INEC not to recognize Ododo as the candidate of the party for the governorship election.
However, in his July 12 judgment Justice Omotosho held that the plaintiff did not, by way of credible evidence, establish his allegation.
Justiice Omotosho noted that Adeyemi had, after he lost in the election, lodged a complaint before an appeal committee that was constituted by the APC, adding that evidence before the court showed that the plaintiff failed to appear before the committee to prove his allegations.
He held that he found no reason to invalidate the outcome of the primary election and consequently dismissed the suit for lacking in merit.
