The Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, on Tuesday, has congratulated Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of the Peoples Democratic Party on the judgment of the Court of Appeal which declared her the duly elected Senator for Kogi Central.
Bello made his position known to State House Correspondents after the Police Council Meeting, saying, “I accept the decision of the appeal court and I use this opportunity to congratulate my sister, Barrister Natasha as a senator of the Kogi Central Senatorial District.
“I, as the executive governor of Kogi State received the news of the decision of the Court of Appeal nullifying the election of Senator Abubakar Ohere, and affirming Barrister Natasha Akpoti as the senator representing Kogi Central.”
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Abubakar Ohere of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner of the election but his PDP opponent headed for the court.
The Kogi State Election Petitions Tribunal had declared her winner and invalidated the victory of Ohere.
The Tribunal Chairman, Justice K. A. Orjiako, delivered the unanimous judgment of the three-man panel, stating that Sen. Ohere’s results were inflated in nine polling units in the Ajaokuta Local Government Area.
He further said that INEC reduced Natasha’s results in those areas and omitted the results of three other polling units meant for Natasha in the same LGA.
Following the necessary corrections, the court declared Natasha as the winner of the election with 54,074 votes, surpassing Ohere, who garnered 51,291 votes.
Ohere had rejected the verdict of the tribunal and filed an appeal, but he lost out as the appellate court declared the PDP candidate the authentic winner.
The three-member panel also awarded the sum of N500, 000 against Ohere.
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