On Friday, the Kogi State governorship candidate Muritala Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party had her appeal denied by the Supreme Court. Ajaka has contested the results of the November 11, 2023 election, which saw Usman Ododo of the All Progressives Congress declared the victor, as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission. Ajaka appealed the Kogi State Election Petition Tribunal’s decision to the Court of Appeal, Abuja, but his appeal was likewise denied when his petition was denied there.
A five-member panel of the apex court, in a unanimous decision, affirmed Ododo’s victory as the panel refused to void the election as requested by Ajaka. Justice Sadiq Umar addressed all three points that were brought up for resolution in the appeal against the appellants in his lead judgement. The Supreme Court dismissed Ajaka’s appeal, designated SC/CV/654/2024, after concluding that it lacked merit. “This appeal is hereby dismissed for being incompetent and without merit,” Justice Umar declared.
The apex court also dismissed the appeal of the Action Alliance and its governorship candidate, Olayinka Baimoh. Braimoh filed an appeal with the case number SC/CV/653/2024 in an attempt to overturn Ododo’s victory. However, the Supreme Court dismissed it due to incompetence, noting that the notice of appeal was filed beyond the legally permitted 14-day period. Umar held that the court had no necessity for considering additional points submitted in the appeal because the first objection lodged against the appeal’s competence was meritorious. He then dismissed the appeal and granted the respondents a N5 million cost against the appellants (AA).
With a total of 446,237 votes cast in 13 of the state’s 21 local government areas, Ododo was victorious in the Kogi governorship race. Ajaka, in second place, received 259,052 votes and won eight LGs. Dino Melaye, the candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party, received 46,362 votes overall but finished third without winning any LG.