The Supreme Court on Friday confirmed the election of Usman Ododo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the duly elected governor of Kogi State. In a unanimous decision, the five-member panel dismissed the appeal filed by Murtala Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), stating that the case lacked merit.
Ajaka had challenged Ododo’s victory, citing substantial non-compliance with electoral laws and other irregularities as reasons for the court to overturn the election. However, the apex court held that the evidence presented was insufficient to support these claims. The panel also noted that allegations of age falsification and certificate forgery raised by Ajaka were pre-election issues, which should have been addressed by the Federal High Court, not the election tribunal.
In the final ruling, the Supreme Court agreed with both the tribunal and the appellate court’s earlier decisions, affirming Ododo’s victory. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Ododo the winner of the November 2023 governorship election with 446,237 votes, defeating Ajaka, who secured 259,052 votes.
