Supreme Court fixes 3rd October for judgment in Kogi APC gov’ship primaries dispute

The Supreme Court on has fixed 3rd October 3 for Judgment in a suit filed by Senator Smart Adeyemi challenging the conduct of the April 14th primary election of the All Progressives congress for Kogi state governorship election.

Justice Inyang Okoro fixed the date after hearing in the appeal was conducted.

Senator Adeyemi is challenging the validity of the election which produced Ahmed Usman Ododo as APC’s flag bearer for the November 11 governorship election.

The grouse of the appellant is that the provisions of electoral act and the guidelines of the APC were compromised during the primary election.

Senator Adeyemi who until recent, represented Kogi west senatorial district in the Senate is claiming that the result brought out by APC in support of Mr Ododo was fraudulent and invalid on the grounds that the primary election was conducted in only 11 out of 239 wards in the state.

A Federal high court in Abuja and the Abuja division of the court of appeal had however delivered judgment against him on the grounds that the allegation of malpractices were not proved as required by law, prompting him to head for the Supreme Court.

At the Supreme Court, counsel to Senator Adeyemi, Musibawu Adetumbi, after adopting his briefs prayed the apex court to grant the reliefs sought by his client

The Senior lawyer argued that the primary election of April 14th 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.

However the APC represented by AbdulWahab Mohammed prayed the Supreme Court panel headed by Justice John Inyang Okoro to dismiss Senator ADEYEMI’s appeal on the grounds that it is against the concurrent findings of fact by the court of Appel and the Supreme Court.

On its part the Independent National Electoral Commission represented by Adeyemi Adeniyi after adopting his briefs told that apex court panel that the appeal was grossly incompetent and that the decision of the two lower courts should be affirmed .

Justice Okoro after taking arguments from the parties announced that the final Judgment will be delivered on 3rd October

Although this may appear to be a matter within the APC which ought to be sorted in house, the grouse of the appellant is in adherence to the provisions of the electoral act.