The Supreme Court has set October 23 for judgment in a complaint filed by Senator Smart Adeyemi challenging the conduct of the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election for Kogi State governorship.
Senator Adeyemi is disputing the legitimacy of the election that resulted in Usman Ododo being elected as the APC’s flag candidate for the November 11 governorship election.
His grouse is that the provisions of Electoral Act and the guidelines of the APC were compromised during the primary election.
Specifically, Adeyemi, who recently represented Kogi West Senatorial District in the Senate, is claiming that the result brought out by APC in support of Ododo was fraudulent and invalid on the ground that the primary election was conducted in only 11 out of 239 wards in the state.
At the day’s hearing of the Appeal, Counsel to Adeyemi, Musibau Adetumbi, adopted his briefs and prayed the court to grant the reliefs sought by Adeyemi.
The Senior lawyer argued that the primary election of April 14 was conducted in gross violation of section 84 of the Electoral Act, 2022.
He claimed that election did not hold in 228 wards and that the claim was supported by INEC’s field officers in their report on the primary election.
In his submission, Counsel for the APC, AbdulWahab Mohammed prayed the Court to dismiss Adeyemi’s appeal on the ground that it is against the concurrent findings of fact by the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
Counsel for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in adopting his brief of argument, told that apex court panel that the appeal was incompetent and that the decision of the two lower courts should be affirmed.
Counsel to Usman Ododo, also called for the dismissal of the Appeal on the ground that it has become academic. He added that the 180 days within which APC can conduct another primary election for nomination of candidate has since lapsed.
After taking the arguments from the parties, Justice Inyang Okoro announced that the final Judgment will be delivered on October 3, 2023.
